As it Was Made to Be
by makesmyheadspin
Summary: Set in Chicago, two nerd virgins with tattoos meet in a tattoo shop by chance and sparks fly. How long will they stay virgins now that their paths have crossed? AH/OOC written by request for Scribeninja.
1. The Girl With the Tattoos

**A new story? Really, Meg? Yes, really. Scribenina bullied me (in her own way) into writing this for her after I wrote that cowboy!Eric for fanfic wife. Apparently brainmates need love too, and since I'm a sucker for Scribeninja's charms, I told her to describe her dream Eric to me and this is what I got: nerdy virgin with tattoos. Seriously, that's what she wanted. So, in a lot of ways this is like NerdStud but with tattoos and less neurosis. But I assure you that Scribeninja whole heartedly approves of this Eric and has been hounding me for more since before the first chapter was even finished. And to think this was supposed to be a one shot *snort. I'm currently working on chapter 38 *head desks forever* I think I'll only update this weekly, but we'll see what the demand is like.**

**I'll stop rambling now. Enjoy the InkedNerd!  
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><p><span>Chapter 1: The Girl With the Tattoos<span>

**EPOV**

I walked into the tattoo shop and was greeted by a pierced up girl behind a case of body jewelry. She had black streaks in her red hair and wore a little too much eyeliner around her oddly colored hazel/gold eyes. She smiled at me and said, "Godric's with a walk-in but they should be done soon. Go on back if you want."

"Thanks, Soph," I smiled at her and walked to the back of the shop where the artists' stations were all set up.

The front end of the place was covered in samples of all sorts of tattoos. I always laughed at the girls in their early twenties who were trying to find some deep word to have tattooed on their lower back in Chinese symbols. I'm not much of a snob but tramp stamps were so damn tacky. I wondered how many lower backs Godric had tattooed in just the last six months alone.

I paused when I saw a curvy blonde girl stretched out on the gurney parked in Godric's station. How he was able to tattoo text that small I had no idea. Even more impressive was the fact that this girl was getting a tattoo on her ribs. That had to hurt like a bitch and yet she didn't seem to be flinching at all. It took me a moment to notice the ear buds plugged into her ears and then I understood. She was probably somewhere else entirely thanks to whatever she was listening to.

"Hey, Eric. I'll be with you in a little bit," Godric said without looking up. How did he even know it was me? Then again, Godric was good like that.

"No sweat. Take your time," I dropped my messenger bag by my feet and sat down in one of the spare chairs.

I knew the fill-in work I had come for wouldn't take very long. I had discovered tattoos when I was little, thanks to my father being a former Marine. He was pretty well inked up from his time in the service and I respected his chosen profession in life even if I had absolutely no desire to follow in his footsteps. But the old man had some cool ass tattoos and they always came with some pretty awesome stories. I'll admit I didn't have much going on in my life that was so stimulating that it required getting inked, but there were a few basic principals at the core of who I was that I suspected would never change. It was those things I chose to wear on my skin.

I had reading to do for my lit class anyway. We were reading Proust at the moment and I was surprisingly into it. I usually preferred American early twentieth century authors but a guy can only read so much Steinbeck before he starts contemplating suicide.

I wasn't reading for very long before Godric finished up his work and motioned for the girl he was working on to sit up. Her back was turned to me and with the way she had been laying; I hadn't been able to get a good look at her face. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. But then girls and I didn't always go together so well. Not because I was into guys or anything like that, but because I was the quiet type that pretty much always had my nose stuck in a book. I preferred my drama to be confined to the page and not in living color, which is just one of several reasons I was nineteen and still in virgin territory.

Godric started going over the aftercare instructions with her as he dabbed an ointment over the tattoo to keep it moisturized. She was still holding up her tank top so I could see another tattoo on the inside of her left wrist—an anchor- and there was a nautical compass on the back of her neck. A girl with tattoos. Now _that_ was sexy. Even better? Not a single one of them had to do with angels, flowers, hearts or something tribal.

"Go take a look before I bandage it," Godric gestured to the full length mirror I just happened to be sitting next to.

I tried to make myself look busy instead of like a big creeper but I did steal a glance at her and I was glad I did. She was curvy in all the right places. _Nothing_ on her was flat and she looked smokin' hot. Her blonde hair was in a messy knot at the back of her head and her eyes were a light, icy blue. She was dressed in a pair of cropped cargo pants and a black tank top that said something but I couldn't tell what. When she stopped next to me I smelled coffee and cinnamon, which is to say she smelled fantastic.

I looked at her while she was focused on checking out her tattoo. I still couldn't tell what it said, damn faulty eyes. Instead I let my eyes travel over the tan skin buffet beside me. I could see lines from what I assumed was the bikini she wore and even though I knew absolutely nothing about the woman standing beside me, the idea of her in a bikini was intriguing, to put it nicely.

I shifted in my seat and tried to refocus my attention on my book. But then she said, "Godric, you are the fucking man."

Concentration was totally blown. I looked up again in time to see her plop down again so he could bandage her side. She turned her face toward me and smiled when her eyes met mine. I smiled back at her and felt a little flustered. She was gorgeous and I wasn't used to being the guy who got a girl like her to smile at me. Even if I did, they were usually disappointed when I didn't smile back.

"You're all set, Sookie," Godric said when the last piece of tape was in place on her bandage.

"Thanks, G," she turned toward him. If anyone else called him that he would have growled and threatened to tattoo them with a kitten hidden somewhere in his design.

The girl, Sookie, pulled her shirt down and tugged on a gray hoodie before bending down to pick up a canvas messenger bag that she hung across her body. After paying Godric she turned to face me again and flashed me another smile. I could finally read her shirt and it said, "I'm a fucking zombie."

I think I fell in love with her right then and there.

She put in her ear buds and sashayed out of the tattoo shop after stopping to give Soph a hug. I wondered if she was a regular around the shop and if so, why I hadn't seen her before. I met Godric through my Aunt Pam, who at the time was dating Godric's roommate, Isabel. Aunt Pam is five years older than me and was adopted by my grandparents when they decided they wanted to have another kid but Granny was too old to have one herself. Thanks to the small age gap between us I was more like an annoying little brother than I was a nephew. We teased each other mercilessly but I loved Pam a lot and I knew she felt the same.

"So, we're filling on the owl?" Godric asked once Sookie was gone.

"Who was that girl?" I asked and watched a slow smile spread across Godric's face.

"Liked that one did ya?"

"Dude, what's not to like?" I asked and he laughed.

"Name's Sookie. She works next door at Goblins. Since she keeps me sane with chai lattes, I cut her a break on ink," he explained as I marked the page in my book and stood up. "Shit, you're a tall motherfucker. Thank God you sit or I'd need a damn step stool."

I laughed and pulled off my shirt before taking a seat. Soph appeared from the front of the store just in time to ogle me appreciatively. The attention made me uncomfortable but rather than being a big sissy about it, I just averted my eyes and waited while Godric reset his station.

"Can I get you something to drink, Eric?" Soph asked and I knew that wasn't a service usually provided by the shop. Soph had been flirting with me ever since I started coming into the shop. She wasn't my type.

"I'm good, thanks," I said politely and flashed a small smile at her. She blushed and then scurried back behind the body jewelry counter like a skittish mouse.

"You know she wants to jump you, right?" Godric asked as he got his inks lined up.

"It's not my style," I stretched my neck.

"What is your style? I've never seen you with a girl. Ever."

Sookie. Sookie was my style, I was sure of it. I don't know what it was about her, exactly, but I felt drawn to her. But she was probably just being nice when she smiled at me. I seriously doubted if I actually approached her she would give me the time of day. Although, I wasn't above checking out Goblins. I'd never been there before but it would be worth it to go in just on the chance Sookie might be there.

I paused mentally. Never before had I considered borderline stalking a girl in hopes of getting her attention. But would it really be stalking if I put myself in just one place where I knew she might be? Seeing her at the tattoo shop was purely by chance so that didn't count. Besides, it's not like I was planning on ordering coffee after coffee so I could hang out in there and wait for her or something. Or at least that's what I told myself.

I remembered my old man telling me that when the right girl comes along it was amazing what a man could do in the name of trying to win her over. Mom was no pushover and she'd made Dad work for it. She'd had her reservations about getting involved with a military man but he was relentless in his pursuits. His persistence had paid off since my parents have now been married for almost twenty-five years and have three kids.

"So how well do you know Sookie anyway?" I asked Godric while he snapped on a pair of latex gloves.

"Well enough to know she's single and has a thing for guys with tattoos and an appreciation for literature," Godric informed me and that got my attention.

I turned my head and said, "And it would have killed you to introduce us proper?"

He shrugged with a smirk on his face and said, "I thought you were focused on school. You're always saying how girls just get in the way."

Usually that was the case, but for this girl I was willing to make an exception.

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><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I walked out of the tattoo shop with a stinging reminder of the fresh ink in my ribs. Call me a dork if you want since you won't be the first, but I was thrilled with the words that would be living in my skin long after I was dead and gone. They were beautiful and perfectly crafted by a band I was head over heels for. I would wear those words proudly until the end of time.

I walked into the coffee shop next door. The usual crowd was gathered at Goblins, and I trotted off to the back to deposit my bag and locate an apron. Making lattes wasn't my calling in life but the customers made up for the lack of glamour. Besides, my boss was flexible with my schedule and had a pretty awesome sense of humor.

Niall was one of those anti-establishment types who may serve fancy pants coffee but he didn't charge an arm and a leg for it the way some other coffee places did. Not to mention, we served a wider array of pastries and since I was a culinary student with a concentration on pastry, this was perfect for me. Niall let me play in his kitchen and because of that I had come up with a few recipes that were exclusive to Goblins. All in all, my job wasn't half bad.

"So, let's see it," Amelia, the girl who always looked like a punk rock version of a pin up girl, gestured to my side when I squeezed in behind the counter.

"Can't, Ames, it's all bandaged up. I'll show you tomorrow," I promised and she pouted.

"Quinn was here looking for you," she informed me and I groaned.

"Please tell me you threw scalding milk on his bald, bulbous head," I rolled my eyes. Quinn was a fucking disaster of a boyfriend. We had only been dating for two weeks but apparently that meant I was supposed to be giving it up. Yeah, well, it takes more than a couple dinners to get in my pants. Excuse the fuck out of me for having standards.

"I told him you were a lesbian," she shrugged and I laughed.

"Great. Now he'll be picturing me getting it on with some chick," I went about making my favorite peppermint mocha with an extra shot.

"Probably but as long as he's keeping it in the spank bank what do you care?" Amelia asked while I pumped peppermint syrup into my favorite big ass mug that could qualify as a bucket.

The bell at the door jingled and we both looked up to see Pam walk in. Amelia immediately went all googly eyed and slipped around the counter to greet her girlfriend. They were actually a cute couple. Pam could be a twat sometimes but that was usually when she was right and I didn't want to hear it. We all have someone like that in our lives.

The three of us made small talk for a while before a rush hit and Amelia bailed on me. I would have been pissed except her shift was over. I hustled behind the counter, making lattes, steeping tea and pulling pastries for the late afternoon crowd that had probably come from the movie theater down the street. On the weekends Goblins also served liquor and became a performance café. It was an open mike sort of deal so anyone who had something to say could say it, as long as it wasn't ranting or preaching on political or religious topics.

When the crowd thinned out to just the regulars again I stopped the CD Amelia had left playing. She was seriously into big band and ska music. It wasn't completely awful but it wasn't really my bag either. I pulled my iPod from my pocket and put that on the dock behind the counter. I finally let out a deep breath I hadn't realized I was holding when the Arcade Fire began to play.

I grabbed a tub and a rag to clean up the messy tables near the big windows. The sun was just starting to set and my side was still sore. I always forgot how fucking painful tattoos were until I got a new one. The actual tattooing process wasn't entirely pleasant, but it was the burning sting in the hours after that was the real bitch. I was going to need to go wash the tattoo in another hour or so. I'd come to work prepared with a bottle of Aveeno lotion and some unscented anti-bacterial soap. I took tattoo maintenance very seriously.

I was just getting back to the kitchen when the bell over the door jingled. "I'll be right out!" I shouted from the kitchen, hoping whoever had just walked in had heard me over the music that was playing.

I put the tub where it belonged and then headed back to the counter to help the customer. I stopped short when I realized my new customer was the hot guy from the tattoo shop. Holy shit. I was suddenly very aware of how tight my tank top was and the fact that he'd seen a good deal of my skin already. My hair was a mess and I wasn't wearing makeup and what the fuck was my problem? Like a guy who looked like this one would be interested in me.

Dude was male model gorgeous. Like he stepped off the pages of _Hot Nerd Weekly_, or something; it was ridiculous. It would be easy to accuse him of being metrosexual, a trend that I thought was best left back in 2005 or Ryan Seacrest's closet, but I didn't think that was the case with this guy. No, he was just the right shade of golden brown and his hair had those delicious sun infused highlights in it so it ran the spectrum of blond from platinum to sandy. He had total bedhead, but I didn't think it was on purpose. He was dressed simply in a pair of jeans that fit him just right (I hated that fucking hipster shit with a passion), a plain white cotton t-shirt and a pair of chucks.

Then there were the glasses. I was a sucker for a pair of Elvis Costello style glasses on the face of a hot boy. Just knowing there was that little bit of imperfection in him made it easier to look at him. What caught me off guard was the way he seemed to be staring back at me with the same awestruck expression I was sure was on my own face. Guys like him didn't look at girls like me. I always ended up with the Quinn types who thought because I was a blonde with a big rack I was too dumb to have any self-respect. Wrong.

"Can I help you?" I asked when I remembered how to talk.

"Yeah, can I get a large black coffee?" he asked and the deep baritone of his voice made my heart flutter.

"Coming right up," I smiled at him and he fucking _blushed_ before smiling back.

What the hell?

The music changed to Mumford & Sons and I couldn't stop myself from bobbing my head and singing along (horribly) under my breath as I poured Tall, Blond and Hot as Fuck his cup of coffee. It was then that I remembered to ask whether or not it was to go. Shit. He had my brain all kinds of fucked up.

"Um, is there for here or to go?" I asked over my shoulder and it just so happened I turned in time to catch his eyes fixed on my ass. Shockingly, I wasn't offended; I fucking giddy.

"For here," he spoke softly in a tone that was a little more gravely than before.

Thankfully the coffee was already in a mug and I set it on the counter in front of him. "That'll be $1.90," I said.

He handed over a five dollar bill and when I handed him his change he dropped it all in the tip jar on the counter. I raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled back at me. Were we flirting? My head spun a little and I thanked him before trying to make myself look busy behind the counter, when really I was just hoping he didn't notice me doing a little ass ogling of my own while he went in search of a table. Damn, that was a nice ass.

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><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I could feel Sookie's eyes on me while I went looking for a table. There were plenty of them but I wanted to find one that would give me the ability to look over at the counter every now and again without being completely obvious I was doing it. I was so not good at the flirting thing and I was even more awkward when it came to actually talking to a girl.

I found a table that I thought would work and then pulled my copy of _Swann's Way_ out of my bag to keep reading. The coffee was pretty good and I settled myself in to get some reading done while I drank my coffee and pretended not to notice Sookie dancing along to the music that was playing. I had no idea what the hell I was listening to but I liked it.

_There's your opening line, jackass_, I told myself but stayed right where I was like someone had super glued my ass to the chair. I watched Sookie dance while she swept the floor and the sway of her hips was damn near hypnotic. She seemed oblivious to the rest of the world around her, focused solely on her task and the music filling her head. I found myself wondering what it would be like to be the object of her attention but then shook that off. I wasn't doing myself any favors by thinking that way.

She was just a girl with a tattoo, a great body and a pretty smile. There were dozens of girls like her. Yeah, that's what I told myself. I knew it was total bullshit. Deep down I knew she was one of a kind but I didn't know why. I remained frozen in my seat, watching her but trying desperately to look like I was reading.

I endured a little over an hour of this before the door jingled and I looked up to see Godric come walking in. He strolled right up to the counter with all the confidence in the world and I wondered how the hell he did that. Just asking Sookie for a cup of coffee had put me in a damn tailspin, and there was Godric making small talk with her like it was the easiest thing in the world. I loved the way her face lit up when she smiled, even if there was this strange possessive part of me I didn't know existed that hated the fact that she was smiling for someone else.

"Hey Eric!" Godric called out and I realized then that I had been staring at them. Great. Way to stay low key. "Eric, get over here."

I marked the page in my book and slowly unfolded myself from the chair I was sitting in. My legs were slightly numb from sitting for so long without moving very much. I made my way through the tables over to the bar and stood beside Godric. Sookie had tugged her shirt up and was slowly peeling away the bandage from her tattoo. All that tan skin was back on display and I immediately shifted my position in front of the bar, thankful I had the wood in front of me to hide the wood that was forming in my jeans.

"Sookie, this is Eric. Eric, this is Sookie," Godric introduced us.

Sookie looked up innocently and smiled at me. "Nice to get a name to go with the face that's been watching me."

Fuck. I was so busted and Godric chuckling beside me made me want to kick him. Jerk.

Should I apologize to her? That seemed like the right thing to do but I wasn't really sorry I'd been watching her. Not to mention, it was a bit compulsory. My eyes—to say nothing of the rest of me- had decided they liked her. Where else were they supposed to go? She was certainly more interesting than Proust.

"It's okay," she said when my face turned ten shades of red. "I was watching you too."

She was? How the fuck did I fail to notice _that_? Maybe it was just because I didn't usually pay attention. For all of my disinterest in girls, for the most part, I was used to being stared at. A guy my height with the tattoos I have isn't exactly inconspicuous.

"How's the tattoo feeling?" Godric asked, cutting into my internal freak out.

"Stings a little but it'll go away," Sookie shrugged and turned toward us once she had the bandage of.

Godric slipped on a pair of gloves and let himself behind the counter. He ushered Sookie over to the sink and wet some paper towels so he could clean her tattoo. She looked over her shoulder at me and asked, "Did you get work done today?"

I nodded like a dolt, unable to find words since my brain was still stuck on her watching me.

"Eric's got quite a collection," Godric offered for me since I was stuck on stupid.

"Oh yeah? How many?" Sookie asked and I had to think about it for a minute.

"I'm working on a sleeve," I was finally able to say and her eyes widened before they got dark and hooded. Hot girl is turned on by tattoos. If she likes books like Godric said; I'm asking her to marry me.

"You're a braver person than I am," Sookie offered me another smile and I would gladly take it. Then she winced when Godric started to wash her tattoo and I wanted to kick his ass for making her face look like that but she quickly rebounded with another smile. "The price we pay for art."

Okay, maybe I'd ask her to marry me anyway. Yeah, yeah, I was moving fast in my brain seeing as how I hadn't found out anything other than her name and the fact that she was a pretty good dancer and had a couple of tattoos but the more I was learning, the more I liked her. Shit, I was in trouble. I didn't know what the hell I was doing and I felt awkward as fuck. I didn't feel like I was nineteen; it was more like I was fourteen and struggling not to spray my shorts every time she looked at me.

"What'd you get done today?" I nodded to her side.

"Oh, uh," she looked only moderately embarrassed by what she was about to say. "Song lyrics. Ever heard of Mumford & Sons?"

"No. Sounds like a carpet company or something," I said and she laughed.

"It's a band," she explained patiently and stretched over to reach her iPod. She pulled it off the dock, did a little scrolling and then put it back.

I kept my eyes trained on Sookie as the music began. Her eyes closed and she mouthed the words that were being sung, almost like it was a religious experience for her. I had never seen anyone have a reaction like that to music before but I admired how passionately she seemed to feel about it. As the music sped up a little her eyes fluttered open and she began to dance a little as she mouthed the words. Watching Godric try to bandage her again as she wiggled while banjos piped out of the iPod dock was pretty comical. Sookie was absolutely adorable and even though she was a terrible singer, the words she was shouting seemed to be a truth escaping her soul.

When the song ended a short three or so minutes after it began I felt like I knew her better just from watching that little performance. She was magic. With her tattoo bandaged up she got to work making a chai latte for Godric, who came around the counter to stand next to me. I was jealous of the hands that had been touching her.

"Can I get you a refill on your coffee, Eric?" Sookie asked pleasantly while sliding a to-go cup over the counter and I wanted nothing more than for Godric to take his coffee and scram so I could talk to Sookie unsupervised.

"You're drinking coffee?" Godric raised an eyebrow at me. Since when was he a troll?

"I'm reading Proust. Something has to keep me awake," I reasoned and Godric smirked. I knew he had something he wanted to say to that but thankfully he just kept his fucking mouth shut. _Thanks for not blowing my cover, asshole._ I would get him back for enjoying my torment later.

"Well, it looks like my work here is done. Thanks for the latte, Stackhouse," Godric lifted his cup to her.

"Anytime, G," she winked at him and watched him walk out the door.

"You know how much he hates being called that, right?" I asked when Godric was gone.

Sookie looked completely unfazed and said, "Yeah, but I'm too cute for him to yell at." She stuck out her bottom lip in an adorable pout I would have had a hard time saying no to, too.

"Aw, see now that's just not fair," I wanted to reach over the counter and run my thumb over that pathetically sad looking lip.

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," she shrugged and let her lip go back to normal. "Besides, I'm sure you've got a pretty pathetic little pout on you when you want one."

"Men don't pout," I said and that got a big laugh out of her.

"Oh please! I have an older brother and I swear to God, every fucking time he gets a cold it's like he's been diagnosed with Cancer. The sniffles will drop a guy your size," she said with a smirk and even though she was borderline insulting me, I liked the fire in her eyes and the way she spoke with such conviction.

"I like you," the words came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them.

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><p><strong>So there we have the first chapter. They're both kinda nerdy but in their own ways. What do you think? I should warn you now that this story is a definite slow burn, but I think way worth the wait if you're willing to hang in there. There's plenty to keep you entertained, I promise. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	2. Foodies and Bookworms

**Yay! I'm so excited everyone liked the first chapter! Look at me posting a second chapter in less than 24 hours. Yeah, my will power has gone to shit. Somewhere Storysforevy is rejoicing. Loudly. **

**Just so everyone knows, the lyrics Sookie tattooed on her side are from "Sigh No More" by Mumford & Sons, which is also where the title for this story comes from. Sookie nerds out in her own way, and really Eric I don't consider this Eric to be that big of a nerd either, but Scribeninja assures me that excessive reading, glasses and a lack of a sex life qualify Eric as a nerd. I'm also happy to hear y'all don't mind a slow burning story. Just keep that in mind when we get further into this story... **

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><p><span>Chapter 2: Foodies and Bookworms<span>

**SPOV**

I stood there flabbergasted by the three words that came out of his mouth. I was standing there teasing him and he had the response of a second grader. For a moment I wondered if I really heard him say what I thought he said. The stunned look on his face told me he was a bit surprised he'd said it and I decided to give him an out and play it off.

"You don't even know me," I said although not nearly as convincingly as I wanted to.

Our eyes met and I realized we were stuck in one of those moments where everything in a person's life can change. I had absolutely no doubt that if he asked me out I was going to say yes. I knew even less about him than he knew about me but wasn't that the whole point of dating someone? Besides, I'd dated enough to be able to recognize a jerk when I saw one and I didn't get that vibe from Eric. I'd known about Quinn but I'd let my curiosity get the better of me.

I have this unfortunate habit of wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt. I always want to believe in the good things and that seems to be my downfall. My brother is always telling me that I'm too forgiving and that I need to learn how to push out the people who treat me badly. It's good advice but I don't think Jason realizes that if I followed it he and I wouldn't see much of each other. I love my brother but he's one of the most self-absorbed people I've ever met and considering some of the ex-boyfriends I've racked up, that's saying something.

Eric leaned over the counter in front of me, his eyes intense behind his glasses when he said, "I want to. I want to know you."

Well then. There it was. Did I want to know him? Did I want him to know me? My heart fluttered in my chest at the prospect. I listened for any of those alarms that could be going off in my head telling me that he was trouble, but the only thing I heard was my heart banging around in my chest.

"I'd like to know you, too," I nodded and for a second I thought I was going to pass out. But then Eric smiled at me and it was all I needed in order to smile back at him.

I grabbed a marker from the counter behind me and took a step closer to him. I took his hand in mine and felt a spark of electricity pass between us. Yep, I definitely needed to get to know him. I'd never felt anything like it before. Our eyes met again and we were both still smiling like a couple of goons. I uncapped the marker and wrote my phone number on the inside of his wrist. If he didn't mind tattoos he wouldn't mind wearing my phone number for a while.

He chuckled when he realized what I was doing and paused for a moment to admire my handiwork. When his eyes found mine again he asked, "So what, exactly, does that tattoo on your side say?"

I would have shown him if it wasn't for the bandage on my side. I couldn't wait to get home and take that thing off. Walking around my apartment in a sports bra and a tiny pair of shorts seemed like an infinitely better plan than keeping that damn band-aide on all night, but for the moment it was the right way to go.

All the same, I leaned against the counter and quoted the lyrics that were now inked in my skin, "There is a design, an alignment to cry of my heart to see, the beauty of love as it was made to be. Love; it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free."

"Those are some good words to live by," Eric nodded appreciatively.

"I think so," I agreed and then had to step away when a customer came up for a refill on their coffee. When the customer was gone again I returned to my spot across from Eric and asked, "So are you a student at the university?"

"Yep, sophomore lit major," he told me. Thank fuck we were getting this small talk bullshit out of the way. While it could be fun to learn little tidbits about a person they were always sort of mundane questions to ask.

"What about you?" he asked since it was the expected thing to do.

"Culinary, with a concentration on pastry," I said and watched his eyes light up a little. "Foodie?"

"Are you kidding? The closest I get to being a gourmet is using real butter in my Kraft mac 'n cheese," he said and I cringed.

"How can you eat that crap? I know we're college students but Jesus. You're shaving years off your life with that junk," I shook my head.

"Well then maybe you should make me dinner some time," he suggested and I raised an eyebrow at that.

"Maybe. What'll you do for me in return?" I folded my arms over my chest.

"The dishes?" he suggested and I laughed.

"You do dishes?" My older brother had given me one hell of an education on how big of a pig a guy between the ages of birth and death could be.

"Dad's a recently retired Marine. I'm lucky he doesn't check my gig line when he comes to visit," Eric explained and I laughed at that too. I loved his sense of humor.

"So I cook and you clean. Is that the deal?"

"Unless there's something else you want," he said in a slightly suggestive way and made my breath catch.

Oh, I could think of a few things I wanted from him but not a single one of them was suitable for public venues. Instead I extended my hand and shook on the deal. Eric's hand swallowed mine easily and if I had to guess he was close to six and a half feet tall, which put him dangerously close to being a foot taller than me. Kissing him would be awkward but I was pretty sure I'd get over it.

"I should go before I spend the rest of the night here distracting you when you have work to do," Eric let go of my hand and as much as I wanted to pull him back he was probably right.

Besides, looking too eager was a bad thing. I had to remind myself that moderation didn't just apply to food or drink, but it was hard to watch him walk away, especially since he chose to walk backwards and ended up tripping over a chair. Those long limbs of his weren't nearly as graceful as I'd thought they were but at least he didn't hurt himself. He did, however, manage to get the attention of everyone else in Goblins before reaching his table.

Purely on a whim I grabbed a couple of the chocolate chip bacon cookies I made the day before and put them into a bag for Eric to take with him. When he came back to the counter with his half empty mug and messenger bag hanging from his shoulder, I thrust the bag toward him and took his mug.

"What's this?" he peeked into the bag.

"Just a little something sweet to remember me by," I shrugged and he held up his arm where I'd written my phone number.

"I think you already covered that," he joked and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, but you won't lose your right arm, will you?" There was a method to my madness and it was the closest he was going to come to me telling him I liked him back.

"I'm not complaining," he said for good measure. "So I'll call you?"

"You better," I smiled at him and watched as he walked out the door.

It was a shame to see him go but it was damn fun watching him walk away.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I couldn't believe she didn't throw me out of the café. I felt like such an idiot, blurting out that I liked her the way I did. I didn't even know where it came from. Not that it wasn't true, but it just pulled the rug out from under me. I didn't know what to think of the arrangement we'd made. Was it a date or just two friends hanging out? Shit, I didn't know.

When I got back to my apartment I immediately dug my phone out of my bag and saved Sookie's number in there. Of course, I was left with figuring out how to get her brand off my arm. Thankfully my roommate, Stan, was parked in the living room playing video games. I swear I don't know how he was getting through school with the amount of time he spent in front of a game console. I never saw him studying anything. Ever.

"How long have you been playing?" I nodded to the TV.

"A while," Stan said vaguely, which meant he'd been playing since I left earlier in the afternoon. That wasn't shocking.

"Got any idea how to get permanent marker off of skin?" I asked him.

"Nail polish remover," he said absently while leaning forward, his focus intense on the screen while he pushed the buttons on his controller in a sequence I wouldn't know if my life depended on it.

The closest I got to playing video games was the occasional game of Wii Bowling and even that didn't happen very often. I had better things to do than sit in front of a TV screen all night. Hell, even if I didn't I could find other ways to entertain myself.

"How do you know that?" I asked him.

"Long story," he said and it was obvious I was distracting him from his game. "Better question. What'cha got on you that needs removing?"

"Phone number," I said with a shit eating grin on my face.

That got Stan's attention and I was shocked when he paused his game to turn and look at me. Now, I fit the description of what most girls would call a 'hot nerd,' but Stan was the real deal. Dude wore Coke bottle glasses and more tweed than anyone under the age of fifty should be allowed to wear. Currently he was dressed in khakis and a polo shirt with a sweater vest over it. He was a hair away from carrying a pocket protector but he was majoring in economics so I figured it was only a matter of time.

"Male or female?" he asked and I glared at him.

"Female."

"No shit," he looked stunned.

"No shit," I said and he resumed his game. The window was never open for long with him.

"What's she look like?"

"Blonde, about a foot shorter than me, blue eyes, inked up…" I trailed off, unwilling to mention that Sookie was as curvy as a soft serve ice cream cone.

"Sounds like a nice piece," Stan's profile smirked and I threw an empty Pepsi can at him in response. "Hey!"

"Don't talk about her like that. No wonder girls never go near you," I shook my head.

Stan wasn't paying any attention to me anymore, however; he was too busy figuring out how to keep himself from getting killed by whatever fucked up nightmare of a monster was on the screen. Since I didn't have any nail polish remover I was going to be stuck with Sookie's phone number artistically scrawled on my arm. I was a little surprised by Stan's assumption that I was gay. I didn't think I gave off the vibe. Besides, it wasn't like I ever saw Stan with a girlfriend. I had at least been out on dates before.

I went back to my bedroom and dropped my messenger bag on my desk chair. The stacks of books on the floor reminded me I really needed to get another set of shelves. I collected books the way other guys collected DVDs, porn mags or video games. I had the bigger of the two bedrooms in the apartment since it was _my_ name on the lease and my height required I sleep in a bed bigger than a full size if I didn't want to curl into the fetal position every night. I also had an en suite bathroom and a walk-in closet that ended up being used as more of a library than a closet.

I went over to my iPod dock and started the music. After grabbing my copy of _Swann's Way_out of my bag I stretched out on my bed and tried to read while Pink Floyd filled the room. I didn't get very far before Sookie's face entered my mind. I stared at my iPod for a few minutes before I got up and went over to my desk. My laptop was only sleeping and I pulled the plug on it so I could bring it back to bed with me.

I fucked around online for a few minutes and had to talk myself out of searching Sookie's name to see if she had a Facebook account. I had one but it was just for my family so they could see what I was up to since they were all the way in California. I loaded iTunes and went to check out Mumford & Sons. I liked the song she had played for me at Goblins and I wanted to hear more.

With the album downloaded I plucked my iPod from the dock and connected it to my laptop so I could transfer my new purchase to it. I had an awful momentary flash of doodling Sookie's name on the inside of a Lisa Frank (a name I knew only because of my little sister) folder and then rolled my eyes at myself. I left Mumford & Sons on while I went back to doing homework, but I did math instead of trying to read. I liked the music. The lyrics were good and the music itself didn't sound like anything I'd ever heard before. In a time when everything on the pop station was damn near close to sounding the same, I could see why Sookie liked Mumford & Sons more.

With my math homework out of the way I went to the kitchen to see what we had in the cabinets and fridge. I smiled when I saw the boxes of mac 'n cheese in the cabinet, knowing Sookie would be appalled by them. Then, of course, there was the Ramen and various types of chips. When I thought about it, it was only by the grace of God that I didn't weigh 400 pounds. I got plenty of exercise since I walked everywhere and spent at least 5 hours a week in the gym but still...

"Dude, I ordered pizza!" Stan shouted when he heard me poking around in the kitchen.

"You didn't get that barbecue shit again, did you?" I shouted back.

Like me, Stan's father was military and had been transferred to Fort Bliss when we were eleven. He had become a full fledged Texan in short order. I would always be a water rat California boy. Lake Michigan wasn't really good for surfing, but just being near such a large body of water made me a little less homesick.

"And listen to you bitch all night? No thanks, Princess," Stan replied and I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I wondered why we were even friends.

"When is it getting here?" I grabbed a bag of Doritos just as the buzzer rang. Excellent timing.

There were lots of things to love about my home away from home and the food was one of those things. I was going to miss the fuck out of deep dish pizza when I moved back to Cali after college. I'd learned the hard way that deep dish wasn't the kind of pizza you at on the go so I grabbed a couple of paper plates from the cabinet while Stan poured himself another Mountain Dew. Now, I wasn't the most health conscious person but even I thought that shit was toxic waste.

Stan took his pizza to the living room to eat in front of the TV while I stayed in the kitchen. A lifetime of rather strict rules about not eating in the living room had stuck with me. I think I did it for the first two weeks I was on my own just because I could, and then I was back to eating at the kitchen table. My mother would be so proud.

After dinner I went back to my bedroom with the intention of getting some reading done. I got through about three chapters before my mind drifted back to Sookie. I wondered if she was as stuck on me as I was on her. Since my concentration was shot I decided to go for a run. With that in mind, I changed clothes and headed out.

* * *

><p><strong>So the InkedNerd's got it bad already. That bodes well, now doesn't it? What do y'all think of Stan? I love him for being a sarcastic ass. It's a nice outlet for all of my eye rolling I do at these two when I write. There is potential to overdose on fluff with this story. I'm pretty sure kjwrit's unicorn farts a marshmallow every time she gets one of these chapters in her inbox. That's a lovely mental image isn't it? Oh! And if y'all google "Christopher Meloni Unicorn" you'll know now what I see in my head whenever she mentions that unicorn. I did an epic spittake yesterday when I saw that pic on tumblr. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	3. She's a Daddy's Girl

**First things first. Just so we're clear, Sookie and Quinn have broken up. Dude kept trying to get in her pants, and Sookie kept saying no. I can't remember who broke up with who, but they are _not_ together. Eric has a clear shot if he ever finds the balls to ask her out. **

**Part of what I love about writing this story is that I based the characters on people I know in RL. Sookie and her family I've based on people in my own family, and the dynamic between Sookie and her father is very similar to my cousin's relationship with her dad. It has made writing a fuck ton easier, and if I felt comfortable sharing fanfic with my family this would be a touching tribute to my Uncle. The banner I made for this story comes from an actual picture that belongs to the cousin I based this Sookie on. The zombie looks remarkably like her, except my cousin is blonde. But now you have an idea of what the Sookie in my head looks like. Okay, enough rambles...**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3: She's a Daddy's Girl<span>

**SPOV**

The train ride across town to my cousin Claudine's place seemed to take forfuckever. My side was killing me and all I wanted to do was get out of my clothes and put my feet up. The brownstone Claudine owned was dark inside but I was expecting as much. To look at us you'd never know Claudine and I were related. She was just about six feet tall with dark wavy hair and almond shaped eyes.

She'd been signed to a modeling contract when she was sixteen. She settled in Chicago and when she found out I would be going to school down here she offered to renovate the coach house out back for me to live in, in exchange for me keeping an eye on her dogs, watering her plants and bringing in the mail. It was a more than fair deal and I did it without argument. Besides, the dogs were good company. She had two retrievers, one golden and the other cinnamon. Their names were Lucy and Ethel. True to form, Lucy was always the one getting into things but they were both friendly, playful dogs.

I pulled my keys out of my bag and let myself in through the front door. The house was beautifully decorated in a shabby chic French style. It was feminine, light and welcoming. I was immediately swarmed by Lucy and Ethel, each of them starved for attention. I knelt down and played with them both for a while before going on to the kitchen to see if Claudine had left me her schedule for the duration of her trip.

The coffee machine was still on which was classic Claudine. She was forever forgetting to turn it off. Lucy followed me, anxious for more attention, while Ethel went to lie down near the kitchen table. I turned the machine off and found Claudine's schedule stuck to the fridge. She was flying into London for a shoot there, and then meeting with some designers in Milan before going on to Sydney for a runway show. She would be gone for a total of ten days.

She'd left me her car keys in case I needed to drive somewhere or wanted to take the dogs out for a while. I didn't drive her car unless I had to. I was a good driver but that didn't mean I couldn't get into an accident and with the way traffic was sometimes it was easy to see your life flash before your eyes a dozen times in a single mile. I checked the fridge for leftovers to dump anything that could go. Claudine didn't cook, in spite of the amazing kitchen she had, but she let me use it when I got a hair up my ass to play around with recipes.

Lucy began to scratch at the back door and I went over to let her out. "Come on, Ethel," I patted my thigh and Ethel slowly got up and followed her much more energetic companion out the door.

It was a nice night out. I missed being able to see the stars like I could back home. Instead I settled for the fast moving lights of airplanes headed for O'Hare and sometimes I would climb up on the roof of the coach house and watch the planes fly by. I would try to guess where they might be going and imagine myself as a passenger on the flight.

Yeah, I know it sounds lame but it was much cheaper entertainment than most of the other things the town offered. Besides, being under twenty-one meant I didn't really qualify for the nightlife yet and since culinary school wasn't like the usual college experience it wasn't like I could go to frat parties with my roommates. But I liked the relative quiet I had living on my own.

I threw some toys around for the dogs and after they did their business I brought them back inside so I could get over to my own little house. The coach house wasn't much but it was more than enough room for me. I had a living room, eat-in kitchen, bedroom, ample closet space and a little loft area above the living room where I kept my computer, books and such. My little house was full of thrift store finds and antiques that had been handed down in my family for generations.

My favorite thing in the house was my kitchen table. It was old, scarred and probably had more stories to tell than I could imagine. Knowing that I was alone, I kicked off my shoes and pulled my tank top off. Getting that damn bandage off was priority one. I usually had a bad reaction to adhesive.

Since I wasn't one to draw out my suffering, I ripped the bandage off all in one go and dropped it in the trash. I headed to the bathroom to wash and lotion my tattoo and smiled at it in the mirror. Godric really was a creative genius and I decided I was never going to anyone but him ever again. He did fantastic work. I traced my finger over the scroll work that sandwiched the words I wanted to wear in my skin. I could only imagine what my parents would say about this new piece of art.

Oddly enough, Dad was more likely to be okay with it than Mom was. She worried I was going to set myself back by being covered in tattoos, but I wouldn't be the first chef to be inked up. My ultimate goal was to own my own bakery. Blame Duff Goldman and _Ace of Cakes_ for putting that into my head. I had already proven I had a talent for piping so I thought I would get into cake decorating. Lucky for me I had a cousin who was more than willing to drop my name and act as a reference for me. If I kept practicing and studying I would actually be able to back up Claudine's claims.

My parents were alike in so many ways it was scary. Mom was highly opinionated and didn't really bother to check her thoughts. Her brain to mouth filter was essentially nonexistent which was both a blessing and a curse. I never had to guess if she was telling me what she really thought when she shared something with me.

Dad was equally opinionated but he usually reserved sharing said opinions until he was asked for them. He was a perfectionist by nature and loved being in the outdoors. When I first told him I wanted to move down to Chicago for culinary school he was the one of my parents that was more supportive. It wasn't that Mom didn't want me to pursue my dreams; she just didn't understand why I had to move so far away from home to do it.

As much as I loved my little hometown there just wasn't the same kind of opportunity there for me. There was already a bakery in town and most people weren't going to bother with a professionally decorated cake unless it was a wedding or a christening, and even then they preferred some old family recipe to something commercially bought. Such was the way of small town living.

Mom worried that I was going to be biting off more than I could chew, that I would be too little a fish in such a big pond. Maybe I was biting off more than I could chew but it was my Gran who told me to dream big. She'd led by example and had always done precisely what she wanted to do with her life. I was merely following the example she set for me and as a result, I wanted to be a big fish in a big pond. Dad understood and Mom was slowly starting to come around to the idea.

Once my tattoo was clean and lotioned I grabbed my phone and took a picture of it so I could text it to my dad. I'd wait and see what his reaction was before forwarding it on to Mom. I typed in the words that were there since they were hard to make out even when I zoomed in a little bit and then sent the picture to Dad. My stomach growled and I went to the kitchen to make myself a grilled cheese. It wasn't fancy, but it would suffice for dinner.

As I was flipping the sandwich over my phone rang. The theme song from _The Munsters_ filled my little house and I knew it had to be Dad calling. I reached over and picked up my phone after putting the lid back on my skillet. "Hey Daddio," I said when I answered.

"Daughter, what's this on your side?" Dad asked, knowing full well what it was.

"The tattoo I told you I was getting. I wanted to get your opinion before sending it to Mom," I explained and I could see Dad shaking his head slightly while formulating his opinion.

"You know how your mom feels about this stuff. I don't suspect she'll like this one any more than she likes the others," Dad said honestly and I knew he was probably right.

"Well what do _you_ think?" I bit my bottom lip nervously. Dad's opinion mattered to me, perhaps more than anyone's.

"My only problem with it was how much skin you had to show in order to have that done," Dad said with a protective growl that made me smile.

"Don't worry, Daddio, I kept my lady lumps covered," I promised and I could hear the grimace on the other end of the line.

I had been an early bloomer and was into a C cup before I finished junior high. I took after my mom that way and as a result of the hour glass shape I had inherited I got more than my fair share of attention from the male version of the species. Because of that my older brother took it upon himself to act as a bodyguard on my behalf. When I was younger and didn't really know how to deal with the attention, I welcomed the protection. But as I got older I learned to be a little more sharp tongued and I was able to hold my own.

I tried to remember that not all guys were pigs but that was easier said than done sometimes. But then I thought of Eric and how little time he spent staring at my chest and I couldn't help smiling. He was adorkably sweet and I was looking forward to him calling me. Putting my phone number on his arm had been a bit forward and maybe even a little presumptuous of me but Eric didn't seem to mind it one bit.

"So what else is new in your life?" Dad asked after a moment.

"Not a whole lot. School is going pretty well. My instructors are pretty laid back so I can't complain too much," I shrugged, still on the fence over whether or not to mention Eric just yet.

"That's good. How's Claudine doing?"

"She's on her way to London at the moment. I'll be here with Lucy and Ethel for the next ten days all by my lonesome," I told him and I knew Dad wasn't crazy about me being on my own for that long.

"I know you can take care of yourself, but promise me you'll be careful."

"I always am. Besides, I need to practice making risotto so I'll probably have some friends over one night this week," I informed him, knowing it would make him feel better.

"I'm sure it'll turn out great," he said, always the encourager.

"I hope so. I would hate to flunk my class because I can't make fancy rice," I snickered and Dad chuckled. We talked for a while longer before Dad excused himself for the night so he could get to bed.

"So you're driving up in two weeks for a visit, right?" he asked me. I tried to make the drive up north once a month if it was possible.

"Barring any last minute things that might come up, but I'll let you know if that happens," I promised.

"Good. Take care, Daughter," he said like he always did before signing off.

"I will. Love ya, Daddio."

"Love you too," he said and then we hung up.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

Being that my experience with girls was somewhat limited, I wasn't sure how long to wait before calling Sookie. I didn't want to seem like a desperate stalker but I didn't want her to think I wasn't interested in her either. I waited until two days after I met her to finally give her a call. Remarkably, Stan was out of the house and that was when I called. The last thing I needed was the peanut gallery hanging around offering commentary.

"Hello?" Sookie answered in a sleepy voice. Shit, did I call too early?

"Is this Sookie?" I asked and she mumbled. "Hey, it's Eric."

"Eric? Hey!" Her voice perked up and then I heard a crash.

"Whoa, everything okay?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I just got tangled up in my sheets," she admitted with a laugh.

"Did I wake you up?" It was an obvious answer there but I asked anyway.

"I was just taking a nap. I had to work the early shift at Goblins," she explained.

"An early shift on a Sunday? Does your boss hate you?" I teased.

"Actually I don't mind. The tips are better and it frees me up for the rest of the day to do what I need to do," she said nonchalantly. "So how're you doing?"

"I'm good," I said when I wanted to tell her I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since we met. Seriously, the girl had driven me to distraction but it wasn't really her fault.

"Good, glad to hear it. So what'cha up to?" she was so casual about things.

"Not much," I sounded like an idiot.

"Lazy days are good," she agreed.

"Yeah," I agreed and then there was an awkward lull in the conversation.

For a good minute I just listened to her breathe and wondered where she was at that moment. Obviously she was at home but I had no idea where home was for her. I figured that was a good place to start, so I asked.

"Oh, I uh, I live in a renovated coach house in Old Town. My cousin owns an enormous brownstone and she offered the coach house to me when I moved down here for culinary school," she explained.

"Very cool. I don't know if I've ever been up to Old Town before," I said. I really hadn't figured out where all the neighborhoods were yet. It wasn't like Manhattan with the five burrows where someone could say they were from Queens or Hell's Kitchen and you'd be able to figure out what the hell that meant, or where it was.

"Where do you go to school? You never mentioned that the other day."

"Oh, I'm a sophomore at UIC," I told her and she sucked in a breath.

"Smarty pants, huh?" she teased and I laughed.

"You're thinking the University of Chicago, I think," I corrected her and I could practically hear the shrug in her voice.

"To-may-to, to-mah-to. So where do you live then?"

"I'm in Wicker Park just a couple of blocks over from Goblins off of North Avenue," I told her.

"Seriously? So then you're not far from me at all. I'm on LaSalle between Schiller and Goethe," she told me and I could imagine the smile on her face. Well, I hoped she was smiling. I definitely was.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Mmmm, I'm not sure yet," she said with uncertainty. "I was sort of waiting to hear from someone about dinner."

_Please let it be me. Please let it be me._

"Anyone I know?" I tried to sound casual but I don't know how successful I was at it.

"Just some guy I met the other day. He's kinda tall, kinda cute… a little on the uncoordinated side," she said and I grinned like a motherfucker.

"A guy who eats crappy processed food?" I offered and she laughed.

"Yes, exactly!" She laughed some more and then said, "So does this mean you want to cash in our deal then?"

"If you're not busy," I said and prayed like crazy that she wasn't.

"I'd love to. I was actually about to go shopping when I got up from my nap so you have perfect timing. I can pick up all the ingredients while I'm out. What time do you want to come over?"

My heart was thumping in my chest like a damn jack rabbit on speed and I was barely able to croak out, "How's four o'clock sound?"

"Sounds perfect. So I'll see you then?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. Can I bring anything?"

"Just your dish washin' hands; I'll take care of the rest," she promised.

She gave me her exact address and afterward we hung up. For a minute I just stood there in my kitchen completely stunned. I had a date with Sookie Stackhouse.

* * *

><p><strong>Could they be any cuter? *hearts bob in eyes* *sniffs the air* I think a new marshmallow was just farted.<strong>


	4. All in the Family

Chapter 4: All in the Family

**EPOV  
><strong>  
>Sookie had sent me a text of the brownstone she lived in and the picture didn't do it justice. The house was three stories, well four, counting the basement. It was surrounded by a wrought iron gate and Sookie had told me to call her when I got there so she could let me in.<p>

"Are you here?" She asked when she answered the phone.

"Yes ma'am."

"Sweet. Gimme a second. Oh, hang on! You aren't allergic to dogs, are you?"

"Not that I know of."

"Good," she said with relief and a few seconds later I heard a dog barking. "I'll see you in a second."

I tucked my phone into my pocket and waited without fidgeting as much as possible. A couple of seconds later a boisterous cinnamon retriever came around the side of the house and ran to the gate. It paced anxiously back and forth, attempting to sniff me out.

"Lucy, sit!" Sookie called as she appeared from the same side of the house as the dog I assumed was named Lucy. She was accompanied by a second retriever who wasn't as excitable. "Sorry about Lucy. She's a little hyper."

"As long as she doesn't bite we'll get along fine," I smiled at Sookie as she opened the gate.

Lucy was immediately on her feet and sniffing around me while the other dog hung back a little. I got the feeling like it was almost a good cop/bad cop routine, as crazy as that sounds. Even crazier was Sookie flinging her arms around me like we were old friends. The hug was completely unexpected but definitely welcome. She still smelled like coffee and cinnamon. Her little curvy body fit perfectly against mine and I tried not to think about her breasts pressed against my chest but it was hard not to.

Thankfully she pulled back, looped her arm through mine and led me around to the back of the enormous house. The dogs ran ahead of us, the blonde one a little slower than Lucy. "So what's the other dog's name?"

"That would be Ethel, of course. I talked Claudine out of getting a chocolate lab she was planning to name Ricky. Lucy and Ethel get into enough trouble already," she explained as we walked to the smaller house behind the brownstone.

"The brownstone is impressive," I glanced over my shoulder.

"It's ridiculously big for one person and two dogs. Every now and then Claudine's boyfriend Colman comes to town but otherwise it's just her and the dogs," she told me.

"Wow. That _is_ a lot of house for just one person," I agreed as Sookie opened the door to her place.

"Welcome to chez Sookie," she gestured for me to go ahead of her.

Her house was decorated in a hodge podge of stuff. Everything was sort of mismatched but somehow still fit together. Hell none of the chairs around her little kitchen table were the same and it was obvious the table itself had seen much better days. All the same, the place had charm and character to it. It felt like it was _her_ space, which wasn't always the case when you walked into someone's house.

The coolest thing that was easy to spot was a zombie painting that was framed and hanging on the living room wall over her couch. I walked over to it and my jaw dropped when I realized it was Sookie in zombie form. It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Even more impressive was the signature at the bottom of the painting. Godric had done it for her.

"This is really cool," I looked back at Sookie who was leaned against the wall behind me.

"Godric is so fucking talented. He did that for my birthday," she stood up and walked over to where I was standing.

"That's a pretty good likeness of you," I agreed and then it crossed my mind that the zombie in the picture that looked so much like her was dressed in lingerie and fishnets. I knew she was friends with Godric but how close were they?

"He came up with that all by himself. I was seriously blown away by it," she told me and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. I had no right whatsoever to be jealous about it but I didn't like the idea of Godric seeing her like that. Hell, I didn't like the idea of anyone seeing her like that. I have no idea where the hell that came from.

"It's a great picture."

"Yeah," she tilted her head to the side with a wistful smile on her face. "Someday I can show it to my grandkids and show them what a hot little thing their Gran was."

Well I guess that answered the question of whether or not Sookie wanted to have kids someday, not that I was thinking about that yet. I looked up at the little loft area over the living room. It was just big enough for a couple of bookshelves and a desk. I was curious to see what sort of books she had in her collection since mine was so large but I felt weird about just going up there and poking around without asking her first so I stayed right where I was.

"So, do you have any interest in learning how to make a proper macaroni and cheese?" Sookie asked me as she headed for the stairs that went up to her loft.

"Sure. I'm essentially trained for nothing so you might want to stick me on cheese grating or something," I warned her.

A few moments later her iPod started and she came back downstairs.

"Isn't that sort of an awkward place to keep an iPod dock?"

"I have a remote," she wiggled her eyebrows and then led me to the kitchen.

I went to the sink to wash my hands and while I was doing that, raindrops started to smack against the kitchen window. Sookie cursed and then ran outside and started to call the dogs to get them back inside before they got soaked. I was guessing she was no more eager to spend the night cleaning up wet dogs than I was.

She managed to get the dogs into her cousin's house and by the time she came back out the rain was falling harder. She jogged the short path from the brownstone to the coach house and it just about killed me. I shouldn't have stared at her but I couldn't help it. She moved gracefully and there was all the bouncing… it made for a serious code blue situation in my jeans and that was no good. Normally I would think of zombies or something to make that stop but now I would just be thinking of Sookie in lingerie. Blessing _and_ a curse, I tell you.

Thankfully there was the time I'd walked into my apartment to find Stan playing whatever the hell he was playing while he was still in his underwear and that was enough to kill anything. He wasn't the least bit amused when I got him a gift certificate to have his back waxed for Christmas. Nor did he find it funny when Pam cracked jokes about him not needing a sweater in the winter thanks to the cable knit growing out of his back. And on that note, the boner was officially killed.

"Sorry about that. I didn't want to spend the rest of my night giving those little beasts a bath," Sookie apologized and took the towel I offered her so she could dry off her arms.

"No problem. Bathing dogs isn't really a fun first date activity," I said on purpose, testing to see what Sookie's response would be to me calling dinner a date.

"Definitely not," she grinned at me, dropped the towel and clapped her hands. "So, we need ingredients."

I restrained my smile just a little as I followed her to the fridge, praying the whole time that I didn't cut or burn myself like a total doofus.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

Eric really was just the cutest thing ever. The look on his face when he saw my zombie picture was somewhat priceless. That really was all Godric's idea and it had turned out beautifully. I loved that painting. It was the one thing I would save if my house caught on fire. There would be no replacing it like there would be with my books, music and computer. That painting was one of a kind.

After successfully wrangling the dogs into the house I returned to my place to find Eric was a disturbed look on his face. I was going to ask what was wrong but then he made a comment about us being on a date and even though we hadn't really discussed it, I was hoping that was what this was. My heart did a little flip flop in my chest and I hauled ass to the fridge so he wouldn't see how flustered I was.

I was totally okay with maintaining my cool when he wasn't around but anytime he got near me it all went out the window. I was a blushing, near panting, hot mess. So far I had been able to keep myself pretty well occupied with other things but I knew after having dinner with him in my house that things were going to change. I would see him sitting at my kitchen table or standing in front of that painting, staring at it like he was trying to commit it to memory.

Once I got the ingredients out for the macaroni and cheese my first order of business was to get water going for the pasta so we wouldn't be waiting on it all night. I hauled out the other pots and utensils I was going to need and just as Eric requested, I put him in charge of cheese grating while I started on the sauce.

"So what are you doing there?" Eric nodded to the pan where I was melting butter.

"I am starting this by making a roux. It's a thickening agent for sauces and gravies. When I add milk to it, it becomes what we fancy pants cooks call a béchamel," I explained to him.

"Interesting," he nodded and kept on grating. "I am so culinarily retarded it's disgusting."

"Stick with me, kid," I winked and bumped him with my hip as I added the flower to the melted butter. I tossed in some salt, white pepper, onion powder and just a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little kick. "How spicy do you like your food?"

"On a scale of Taco Bell sauces," he started and I gave him a completely disgusted look that made him laugh. "I'd say a medium."

"You grew up in California where there is some of the best Mexican food ever and you ate Taco Bell?" I was appalled. What was _wrong_ with this boy?

"Oh I ate plenty of the real deal stuff too, but I was just trying to find a scale that wouldn't be subjective, snobby," he accused and I scoffed. Boy had a little feisty in him after all. I kinda liked it.

I smiled politely, swallowed my pride and apologized for being bitchy since that wasn't really my intention. He accepted my apology and proceeded to tell me about his favorite place to get authentic Mexican food in California. I learned that he had two younger sisters, Lacey and Amber, and his parents had been married for more than twenty-five years already.

"They grew up together in some tiny town in Missouri that no one's ever heard of. Dad didn't want to end up a farmer or a mechanic so he joined the Marines. Mom didn't want to be without him so six months after Dad finished basic training they got married," he told me with a smile.

"That's sweet. My parents got together as a way of stopping their exes from bothering them," I said and Eric raised an eyebrow. "It's true! Okay, so my parents grew up on the same block. They knew each other from the time they were little and they were friends but they weren't super close. But then since they both had an ex that just wouldn't take no for an answer, they figured they'd tell everyone they were dating and the exes would go away. It worked, but they ended up falling in love. Dad's a year older than Mom but they got married the year after Mom graduated from high school."

"Wow," Eric said and I actually agreed with the sentiment. "You know, when your parents set the bar really high like that it puts some serious pressure on you to make it work when _you_ get married, doesn't it?"

"Yes and no. I obviously can't speak for your parents but I know for mine it always hasn't been roses and rainbows. Mom was really sick for the first five or so years of their marriage. She miscarried twins because she had to go through chemo and back in the early eighties treatments aren't like they are today, so it was pretty awful. But they managed to make it through that. Although, I sometimes I think maybe there was a little of the radiation leftover in her system when she got pregnant with my brother. That would certainly explain a lot," I laughed at the thought of it.

"Why? Is he like, deformed, or something?" Eric asked.

"Only in his brain. Jason's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer."

"Gotcha," he laughed and reached for another block of cheese.

"What are your sisters like?" I asked while dumping the penne into the boiling water.

"Well, uh, Lacey's almost seventeen. She started dating her first boyfriend over the summer and didn't really like it when I threatened to shoot out his kneecaps if he made her cry," Eric said casually and I shook my head at him.

"God help me, you and my brother might just get along after all," I grabbed the bacon from the fridge and began to pull strips to cook in the cast iron skillet that was warming on the stove.

"There is nothing wrong with letting a potential victim, I mean suitor, know his life is on the line if he makes my little sister cry," Eric said with conviction. "Besides, I'm nothing when you consider my father's a Marine."

"True story there," I snickered.

"Thankfully Amber's only thirteen and hasn't totally discovered boys yet. She has little crushes here and there but on the bright side, she's smart enough to know _Twilight_ is retarded."

"Good girl," I grinned. I hated that shit. Vampires don't fucking sparkle. Ever.

"Lacey's a total water rat and spends most of her time at the beach."

"Sounds like my kind of girl," I flipped the bacon over and stirred the white sauce I would be adding cheese to in three more minutes.

"Amber's more of a tomboy. She plays a ton of sports. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she's the one who follows in Dad's footsteps."

"Really? You think your sister would join the Marines?"

"It's possible. Dad's not real obvious about it but we all know Amber is his little buddy. She's followed him around all doe eyed and full of hero worship since she was born. Even at thirteen she's more regimented and stable—way too mature to be thirteen."

"I think my brother has the brain your sister _should_ have," I snorted and started to dump cheese into the sauce pot. "Will you stir that for me?"

"Sure," Eric and I traded sides of the stove and he carefully whisked the cheese into the sauce, watching it melt and slowly turn the sauce a light shade of orange. "So what kind of cheese did you have me grate?"

"That was Colby, sharp cheddar, white cheddar and a little bit of Gruyere."

"What was that last one? The one that smelled like feet, right?"

I laughed and said, "Yes, that was the one that smelled like feet, but trust me it adds a little something to the sauce."

I grabbed pinches of each kind of cheese and put them into a bowl to melt on top of the pasta after it was mixed in with the sauce. I started the oven and pulled the bacon from the pan so it could cool a little before I crumbled it. Then there was the debate of whether or not to mix the bacon into the pasta or leave it on top. It was delicious either way. I used thick cut bacon instead of pancetta and I was convinced it made a huge difference. The flavors were just better that way.

Eric wasn't nearly as big of a disaster as he warned me he would be. He managed to carry on a conversation just fine while helping me make dinner. We got the pasta combined with the sauce, layered on the bacon and reserved cheese and into the oven to bake and bubble for a bit. True to his word, Eric washed dishes from all the prep stuff while I started putting together a salad to have with dinner, since I refused to eat just carbs and cheese.

The salad was a mix of greens, cucumber, tomato, green pepper, and some leftover grilled chicken from the night before that I had saved especially for the salad. I added some pecan chips and bleu cheese crumbles after checking with Eric to make sure he liked those things. I grabbed a bottle of my homemade vinaigrette that Eric said he wanted to try and set it all on the kitchen table.

"So what are we listening to?" Eric asked me while getting down plates for me after I pointed out which cabinet they were in. "I mostly listen to classic rock so if it came out after 1990 I'm pretty useless."

"Classic rock is good; I grew up on it. My parents have an _epic_ vinyl collection in our basement. Currently we're listening to The National. They aren't mainstream so you wouldn't have heard them on the radio."

"I don't really listen to radio. I can't stand commercials. Besides, iPods are just way more convenient. Do you remember hauling around a Discman as a kid, praying the damn thing didn't skip every time you moved?"

"Oh my God, yes!" I threw my head back and laughed. "I don't even know how many of those things I went through. It seemed like I was asking for a new one every Christmas."

"I think they made them shitty on purpose," Eric said it like it was a conspiracy and it probably was.

"Well God bless the iPod for not sucking," I said and Eric nodded his agreement with a goofy grin on his face.

Did I mention he was adorable?

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so can I just tell you that my favorite thing about this chapter is Eric rating things on a scale of Taco Bell sauces? Scribeninja and I were in stitches over that shit. I think there may have even been a phone call because of that. Now every fucking time I drive by the Taco Bell that's less than a mile from my house, I have myself a little gigglefest. Also, that Discman problem was so totally a true story from my own life, as was how Sookie's parents got together. Aunt and Uncle wanted to get rid of exes so they hooked up. They'll be married for 36 years in just a couple of days, so yay for them. <strong>

**Oh, and just a reminder that if you want to see that zombie pic, I turned it into the banner for this story so just go to my profile and you'll find it there with my other banners. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Rainy Kisses and Pointy Bits

Chapter 5: Rainy Kisses and Pointy Bits

**EPOV**

I feel like I should start by saying that I actually thought it was cute that Sookie was so passionate about food. I felt the same way about books, which was part of the reason I was thankful my youngest sister never got into that _Twilight_ stuff. I hadn't read it myself and refused to do so, but everything I ever heard about it told me it would be a waste of brain cells. I was literary snob the same way Sookie was a food snob so I wasn't really in a place to judge.

She was patient with me though, and answered every question I asked. She didn't treat me like I was an idiot for not knowing stuff that probably should have been common sense or was taught in Cooking 101. Sookie was right when she said it wasn't really that hard to make mac 'n cheese from scratch. I figured out my real problem was that I was just too lazy to do it.

Dinner was delicious and while I washed the dishes afterward, Sookie dried them and put them away. It was oddly domestic for a first date but I didn't mind it. The rain had stopped by the time dinner was cleaned up and Sookie suggested taking the dogs for a walk, which was fine with me too. I followed her across the yard and up the back steps of the brownstone so we could retrieve the dogs.

Lucy was particularly happy to see us and I knelt down to scratch and pet her while Sookie went to get their leashes and some plastic bags for any deposits they might leave. Ethel didn't seem to be convinced I was worthy of her time just yet since she continued to hang back and observe me. Sookie reappeared from wherever she'd gone in the house. The second the dogs heard the jingling of the leashes they both bolted toward Sookie.

"I guess they want to go for a walk?" I smirked and stood up.

"Are you kidding me? These dogs are as desperate to go on walks as Lindsay Lohan is to have the charges dismissed," Sookie snarked and it reminded me of Pam. I wondered how well the two of them would get along.

"We all have our vices," I shrugged. "Clearly mine is junk food. What's yours?"

"Coffee," Sookie said without hesitation. "Everyday at work I make myself what some call a bucket's worth of peppermint mocha latte."

"That sounds..." I trailed off, unsure of how to describe it.

"Whoa, whoa, don't knock it until you try it," she cut me off from finishing my thought. "You come by Goblins later in the week and I will make you one."

I smiled, if only because she had invited me to see her again. That seemed like a good sign. Once she got the dogs leashed we headed out through the back door. I offered to take Lucy's leash since she was the more rambunctious of the two dogs.

Since Sookie knew the area better I let her lead the way. I waited until we were about a block away from the house before reaching for her hand. She looked up at me while her fingers laced with mine. I smiled at her and she looked away. I didn't get the feeling that she was uncomfortable but it did seem like she was trying to hide something from me.

We walked a couple more blocks, mostly in silence. The dogs sniffed along our path, stopping to mark new territory or cover old scents with new ones. I guessed we were about half a mile away from her house when it started to rain again.

"Oh shit," she groaned and we turned back to head for her house.

"So much for not dealing with wet dogs, huh?" I smiled at her.

"I'll put them down in the basement. That's where they get their baths anyway," she shrugged.

We got caught by a red light and it was just our luck that that was when the sky really opened up. We were both soaked in a matter of seconds and unlike a lot of girls probably would have, Sookie started laughing. She looked up at me and said," Well, something had to go wrong, right?"

The way she was smiling up at me, even while looking like a drowned kitten, was beautiful and before I could change my mind I leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were soft and sweet and after a couple of seconds she pulled back and looked up at me with an expression I didn't know how to define. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment, her eyes searching mine, and then she leaned in again.

When our lips met the second time it was completely on purpose. There was no spontaneity to it. She kissed me like she meant it and I kissed her right back. My free hand wound its way into her matted hair and held the back of her head. Her tiny fist grabbed onto the front of my t-shirt and it was only when Lucy began tugging on the leash that I remembered we had the dogs with us.

I ignored it and let the kiss run its course. We were both breathless by that point and an antsy Lucy was eager to get the show on the road. Sookie grinned at me and I knew I was smiling back at her. I didn't know how I got so damn lucky but I had stumbled onto something good with her.

We walked back to the house and went in through the basement door. She deposited the dogs in their little kennel area to dry off so they wouldn't wreck the rest of the house. After making sure they had plenty of food and water, she led me upstairs and through the yard back to her place.

"So this is kind of awkward," she said while wringing her hair out over the kitchen sink.

"Could be worse," I shrugged.

"That's true," she agreed and I noticed then that her teeth were chattering. "I need to get out of these wet clothes. I have a sweatshirt that belongs to a guy friend who is about your size if you want to borrow that. I mean, you know, while your clothes are drying. We could hang out and watch a movie while we wait. But if you'd rather go..."

"I'll stay," I said quickly. I really didn't want to go home yet. Although I was curious as to what her solution to keeping the lower half of me covered was going to be.

A towel wasn't going to cut it. After having kissed her, I knew that if she curled up next to me on the couch my body was going to react to that and a towel was no match for the flagpole that would rise in hopes of being saluted by her. I figured taking off my shoes was a good place to start. Stripping in front of her wasn't something I would have figured to be on the menu for our first date but Mother Nature clearly had other plans.

"I'll show you where the bathroom is," Sookie offered once my shoes were off.

She stopped at a closet and pulled out a beach towel for me so there would be plenty of coverage but I still wasn't convinced it was going to do the trick. All the same I went into the bathroom and pulled off my wet clothes while Sookie went across the hall to her bedroom to do the same. I could only hope she would emerge in something flannel that wouldn't be like an invitation to maul her. Even though I didn't really have tried and true mauling skills, I was (_way_ more than) willing to give it a shot.

Sookie and I opened our doors at the same time. I was standing there in a towel, looking like I'd just gotten out of the shower, and she was wearing some little nightgown with a half robe tied securely at her waist. Both of us were staring, checking each other out, and neither of us seemed to be very shy about it. To Sookie's credit she seemed to be mostly focused on my tattoos and that got me wondering if there was any chance she would be willing to show me her newest one.

I quickly pushed that away before my crotch declared it to be camping season. I handed my wet clothes over to Sookie, having already removed my wallet, keys and phone from my pockets. She opened another closet door to reveal a stacked washer and dryer unit. With her back to me I was able to shamelessly take in the lines of her backside. With her robe tied the way it was, her shape was accentuated perfectly. It took all the control I had not to reach out, grab her hips and rub myself against her. I must have gotten closer to her though because when she turned around she slammed into me.

"Oops," she said awkwardly but the look on her face suggested it was no accident.

Did she just feel me up?

I wondered how she would respond to me brushing up against her but that had serious potential to backfire. The whole Sookie package had _my_ package anxious to be unwrapped and put to use. But that was unacceptable for a first date. Not to mention I hadn't mentioned anything about my virgin status yet and I knew my first few times wouldn't last long.

If I was lucky enough for it to be with Sookie, and it kind of freaked me out a little that it dawned on me that I wanted it to be her; I didn't want it to be a thoughtless rush of hormones that brought it on. I didn't know if she'd been with anyone else in the past and if she had, I didn't want her thinking I couldn't hold my wad for more than fifteen seconds. There were too many unknown factors but I wanted to know these things and I wanted to tell her about me, but it was too soon to have that talk.

I was just going to have to get better at controlling myself. No one had ever threatened my self-control like she did. The crazy thing was how oblivious to it she seemed to be. I started wondering maybe that was my fault. Mentally, I was having total freak outs over her but I had managed to be respectful enough not to make that her problem. Yet.

"Do you want the sweatshirt?" Sookie asked in a voice that didn't quite sound like hers.

Our eyes were still trained on one another and mine had moved to her chest. Yes, I ogled her. The moment demanded it. But I didn't let my eyes linger there for too long, just long enough to let her know I liked what I saw.

"I think I'll be okay without it," I said as my eyes reached her lips. I wanted to kiss her again. Desperately.

When she licked her lips, I moved in.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

If that boy didn't put on more than a towel I was going to break a cardinal rule and sleep with him on the first date. With all that skin on display I was worried my brain would cease to function properly. I found out for sure just how debilitated I was when Eric closed the little bit of space between us and kissed me again.

_Oooooh I could get used to this._

Those lips were much fuller than they appeared to be and Eric was a phenomenal kisser. I might have been a virgin, but I had kissed my fair share of boys. I had figured out there was a lot to be learned from a kiss. More accurately, it was a second kiss that I really paid attention to. The first kiss is usually kind of nervous or sloppy and not really representative of what a person is really capable of.

The second kiss I got completely lost in on a rainy, busy street. I could have stayed there for longer if the dogs wouldn't have started acting up. Holding Eric's hand was nice, but kissing him was even better. He wasn't terribly aggressive but he was at all the right moments and without going too far.

The best part was the way he nibbled just a little on my bottom lip. Or maybe it was his hand in my hair and the way he tugged on it just a little. Or maybe it was his warm hand on the small of my back. Oh, and the way I got all light headed and my heart beat so fast and hard I could feel it in my toes. The things a kiss from him did to me was unlike anything else I'd ever experienced.

Suddenly _The Munsters_ theme filled the air and I nearly bit his tongue in surprise. We both laughed since we'd both jumped. He pressed his forehead to mine and I stared at his bare (and fantastically sculpted) chest, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Sorry. That's got to be one of my parents," I explained and looked up at him through my lashes.

Eric tucked some of my hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead sweetly. "You should get that."

"I'll call them back," I said and wrapped my arms around his neck. I wasn't done kissing him yet.

We were back at it but when I got closer to him it became obvious just how much he was enjoying the kissing. I gasped in his mouth and the subtle brush of my stomach against the stiffness that was barely being contained by that beach towel forced Eric back. It wasn't a big deal but it was obvious it made him nervous. He wasn't the first guy to get a woody from making out but the flush in his cheeks told me there was something going on I didn't know about. Then again, if he knew the state of my previously dry panties I would probably be feeling the same way.

"Is something wrong?" I kept my eyes on his, even though I desperately wanted to look down and see just what he was packing under that towel.

"No, nothing's wrong," he said quickly and when my brows furrowed in confusion he continued, "I like you, Sookie. You're a great kisser and I very much like kissing you."

"So what's the problem?" I reached for his hand and he flinched a little when I touched him.

"I don't want to go too fast. Its a first date. No need to rush into something," he said nervously. I could see how flustered he was, which I found odd. Most guys aren't going to back off from a girl who's is willing to make out with them. He looked sincere, almost pained, when he said he liked the kissing, so I was unsure of what the problem was.

"It's okay, Eric. Why don't we find a movie to watch while we wait for your clothes to dry?" I suggested and he nodded.

I led him to the living room and showed him where I kept my DVDs. I figured I would let him pick since I'd already seen everything in the collection. There was an uneasiness between us but I was afraid to pick at it. I stood back a little to give him plenty of space to peruse the titles on the shelves.

"Tim Burton fan?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I love Tim Burton movies. He has such a unique style. The colors and tone of his movies are unique to him. Kinda like Baz Luhrman films," I explained. I wasn't too big of a film snob but I knew what I liked and what I didn't.

"How about Edward Scissorhands?" Eric pulled the DVD from its spot.

"Sure. Now is as good of a time as any for you to find out about my crush on Johnny Depp," I winked at him.

Eric rolled his eyes and he said, "It's the pirate thing, right?"

"Well, that's a part of it but I've been a fan since I was little. I didn't hop on the bandwagon because of Captain Jack," I said defensively and Eric actually looked amused. "What?"

"I think its cute that you get bent out of shape over being accused of being conformist," he told me and I'd never thought about it that way, but he wasn't entirely wrong.

I had my own sense of style and I didn't really care what anyone thought. My parents and Gran had raised me to judge for myself what was right for me. I took their opinions into consideration but I didn't let them dictate my decisions. If I had I would still be back in my hometown, settling for less than what I wanted in life. I would be miserable and I would have no one to thank for it but myself.

"It isn't about rebelling," I stepped closer to Eric and looked up into his eyes. "It's about going after what I want and owning it when I do."

"That's good to know," he smiled at me and then handed over the DVD so I could put it in the player.

He went and sat down on the couch, arranging himself carefully so as not to flash me when he did. I went to the kitchen to get us drinks and grabbed the remote on the way back. I sat on the couch but not too close to him. I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. I wanted to ask about all the tattoos but it would have to wait for another time.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" He asked when I put my feet up on the coffee table.

He pulled me closer to him and my legs ended up curled under me while my top half was leaned against him. He was so warm! I wasn't prepared for it but I probably should have been. He smelled like rain and whatever it was that made Eric smell like Eric. My eyes closed and I inhaled deeply while I started the movie.

* * *

><p><strong>Scribeninja wanted a kiss in the rain and she got it *le sigh* Anyone going into a diabetic coma over all the sweetness yet? Thanks for reading!<strong>


	6. Night Calls and Morning Smiles

Chapter 6: Night Calls and Morning Smiles

**EPOV**

By the time I got home that night I'm pretty sure I was floating. Thankfully Stan had already secluded himself in his room because I really didn't want him bringing me down with his deadpan sarcasm. My clothes smelled like Sookie and taking them off was going to suck. The dryer had buzzed about twenty minutes into the movie and she'd paused it so I could get dressed.

At first I didn't want to get dressed because I liked having her snuggled close to me like she was but when I came back to the couch in my jeans and t-shirt she actually got closer than before. Everything was going well when all of a sudden her hand landed absently on my thigh. It took all of a fraction of a second for me to know how close she was to feeling more than she bargained for. Sookie was innocently drawing little patterns and shapes on my leg, which I didn't mind, accept it was making it difficult not to pounce on her.

She was totally pounceable. When she'd stepped out of her bedroom in her nightgown with her robe tied around her like it was a part of me had panicked a little bit. I figured there had to be some sort of signal I should be picking up but I realized rather quickly that it was all innocent on her part. She'd pulled a blanket down over her legs, unfortunately, since they were more than fun to look at and memorize, but the way she was leaning on me gave a pretty good shot of her cleavage, which was considerable.

I tried not to stare but it was like there were magnets in her boobs and my eyes couldn't stay off of them for more than a few seconds. She may have even caught me staring at her once or twice. It couldn't be helped and she didn't seem to mind. She would smile at me and lay her head down again on my shoulder. She was adorable.

Sookie had sent me home with leftovers and the tingly feeling of her lips still on mine. She was a great kisser. I was in a bit of a panic, however, because for the first time in my life I wanted more than to just kiss a girl. Well, no, that's not exactly it. It's hard to explain. I'd found other girls attractive in the past. I mean, I had hormones and eyes so yeah; she wasn't the first girl that got me hot and bothered. She was, however, the first girl that made me want to act on it.

But with her it wasn't just because she was beautiful or because she was a good kisser. I liked her sense of humor and how easily conversation flowed between us. She was playful, opinionated and had interesting things to say. I would be content to spend the night just sitting up talking to her, which was something else I'd never experienced in the past.

At the same time, I wanted more than just conversation. When I stretched out on my bed—without having gotten undressed yet- my eyes closed and I could very easily imagine her straddling my lap or under me, writhing and making these little noises that would drive me crazy. I imagined they sounded a little like the noises she made when she ate, only much louder. I didn't force myself to turn off those thoughts either and before I knew it I was headed to the shower to relieve the tension.

I stood under the hot spray of the shower and stared over at the large tub in the corner. My eyes closed and in my mind she was watching me, soaking up to her neck in bubbles, her silky hair piled up on top of her head and her blue eyes hazy with lust, watching while I stroked myself and stared at her. Then she was making those noises and her hands had disappeared under the bubbles.

I thought about what it would be like to hear her calling out my name when she orgasmed and it was enough to send me hurdling over the edge myself, and I released hard enough that I slumped against the wall. Shit. I hadn't dared touch her anywhere south of her neck yet but it would only be a matter of time.

Sookie asked me to stop by Goblins on Wednesday since she was working late that night. She promised to make me a latte that would get me to change my mind about them and while I doubted it would happen, I was willing to keep an open mind. But that didn't even matter. The important thing was spending time with her. Wednesday seemed so far away and I wondered what the hell I was going to do with myself until then.

I got out of the shower and put on a pair of fresh boxers. I lotioned the tattoo that Godric had done some touch ups on and then went back to my bed. I'd finished _Swann's Way_ earlier in the day while I was waiting to call Sookie so I was actually without homework to do for the moment. I was going to have a paper to write starting on Tuesday that I could have gotten a jump start on but instead I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels.

I landed on the Food Network, which I would usually go right past, but ended up watching what I guess was a chef's version of a game show since there were mystery ingredients and ten grand was given out at the end. I grabbed my phone and sent a text to Sookie before I could stop myself.

**_E: I'm watching something called Chopped. Ever seen it?_**

I'm not ashamed to admit I held my breath while waiting for a response from her.

**_S: I LOVE THAT SHOW! I'm watching right now too!_**

I grinned at the thought of her curled up on her couch, quite possibly in the same spot I'd been sitting in and I wondered if she missed me. I missed her. Was it too soon to tell her that?

**_S: Not gonna lie. If I had to cook lamb hearts I'd probably narf._**

**So _that_ was what they were cooking. Gross.**

**_E: Likewise. I don't do organ meat._**

**_S: Me either. You might think I'm fancy pants but I draw the line somewhere. _**

**_E: So I don't have to worry about you making me a kidney casserole?_**

**_S: Fuck and no. *barfs just thinking about it*_**

I laughed at her response and was just thinking about calling her when my phone rang. I really needed to get a picture of her sometime soon so it would pop up every time she called or sent a text.

"Hey," I said casually when I answered.

"Hey. I never would have pegged you for a _Chopped_ fan," she told me.

"I was channel surfing and there isn't much else on. I've already seen the Nostradamus special that's on the History Channel anyway."

Sookie laughed and said, "Everything on the History Channel bleeds together for me these days. There's almost always a mention of Nostradamus, the Mayan Calendar or 9/11. I don't know how they do it, but they manage to get everything to circle back to at least one of those three topics, no matter what the subject of the show is."

I would have argued except she was right, and I was too shocked to hear she actually watched the History Channel to form much of an argument. Now if she watched the Military Channel, I'd _really_ be impressed.

"I mostly watch because the dad from Gilmore Girls does a lot of narrating," she admitted and I laughed at that.

"Lacey was a fan of that show so sadly, I know what you mean," I confessed and it was her turn to laugh.

Before I knew it, two hours had gone by and we were still on the phone. It was well after three in the morning and I had a class at eight. Yet I couldn't bring myself to cut her off and say goodnight. I'd take a nap when I got home from class in the afternoon. I was a big fan of sleep, so the fact that I was willing to sacrifice it to talk to her instead was a big deal.

Finally about an hour later she finally started yawning and I knew that was my cue to cut things off for the night, as much as I didn't want to. I really liked the sound of her voice. I turned on my side and tried to imagine what it would be like if she was spooned in front of me. I wanted it.

"I should let you go. You sound like you're ready to pass out," I said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty wiped out. I don't really want to hang up yet though," she admitted and I grinned like a jackass.

"Me either," I admitted.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I woke up Wednesday morning with a smile on my face. I had woken up the previous morning to find a copy of _Office Space_ outside my door. It was Eric's favorite movie and he was borderline offended when I told him I had never seen it. The last thing I expected was to see that waiting for me. It was sweet of him and since it was early I sent a text so I wouldn't wake him with a thank you phone call.

He had sent a text back immediately; asking me to hold off on watching it until we could watch it together and I promised I would wait. We got into the habit of calling each other before bed. We talked for hours about all sorts of things. I told him about growing up in Wisconsin and he talked about California. He missed being so close to the ocean and felt like Lake Michigan was a poor substitute. I had an Aunt and cousin that lived in Louisiana but they were near Shreveport, which was nowhere near the ocean.

I rolled over to pick up my phone and see what time it was. I didn't have classes on Wednesday and I wasn't scheduled to be at Goblins until two in the afternoon. I grinned when I saw a good morning text waiting for me. Eric was an early riser and was usually up just after sunrise. Some mornings he went for a run and others he did homework if he needed to. He was pretty disciplined, something I imagined he inherited from his father.

My father was just as precise and a total perfectionist and I guess I had inherited that to some extent as well, but Eric was way more serious about it than I was. Oh God. Was I dating my father? That was a thought too heavy to process first thing in the morning.

Instead I sent a text back to Eric, letting him know I was awake. I got out of bed and started the coffee maker before running back to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. While I waited for the coffee to brew I went over to the brownstone to let the dogs out. Lucy and Ethel came barreling outside, both of them eager for a little attention. I tossed their toys around for a bit and then went back inside to get a cup of coffee and check my phone. I had another message waiting from Eric.

**_E: I can't wait to see you later. I miss your smile._**

Yeah, I totally swooned. He always knew the right things to say. He was charming, sweet, funny and smart. Eric took school seriously and felt passionately about the subject he had chosen to study. I really liked being around him and it kind of creeped me out that I missed him already.

**_S: I can't wait to see you either. I miss you making me smile._**

It seemed like the right response and just for a little fun I put it under a picture of me smiling, morning hair and all, with a giant cup of coffee in my hand. Before I could change my mind I sent the picture and waited for a reply. Lucy and Ethel started barking pretty furiously and I went outside to see them following Claudine's neighbor back to his garage.

His name was Andre and he gave me the creeps but he didn't really bother me. It was all in the way he looked at me or the awkward over the fence small talk he made with Claudine every now and then. He thought he was flirting but it was just plain weird. Claudine and I joked that he probably had a step ladder in his yard since he was shorter than I was and I could hardly see over the privacy wall Claudine had installed.

"Hush up!" I walked over to the dogs just as my phone buzzed in the pocket of my robe.

**_E: You look beautiful. I expect to see that smile again later._**

I grinned like a buffoon and stuffed my phone back in my pocket to take the dogs inside. After giving them fresh food and water I went back to my place to shower, get dressed and have breakfast. I didn't usually eat much in the morning. That morning I fixed myself some yogurt and homemade granola with banana and strawberry slices. I sat at the kitchen table and smiled at the memory of Eric sitting across from me, grunting and moaning while he ate dinner with me.

I'd never heard anything like that before and it was sexy as hell. Especially when I realized he made similar noises we were making out. The little growls and the way he let his fingers get lost in my hair... just the thought of it made me shiver. Which led me to the topic of sex and the fact that we were going to have to talk about it.

Telling a guy I was a virgin always went one of two ways. Either the guy thought there was no way he was getting any and wrote me off, or he figured my virginity was some sort of prize and I wrote _him_ off. It was always an awkward conversation and it rarely ended up going well.

I hadn't maintained my virgin status for religious reasons, or because I planned on waiting for marriage. I was waiting for someone that felt right, and while it was still way too early, I had a feeling about Eric that he might be the one I'd been waiting for. All I could do was hope that he wouldn't undo all of the hard work he'd already done by saying something stupid when he thought he was being funny.

But I had to tell him about it. Would it really be any less awkward if he wasn't my first? At least I didn't have to worry about him thinking he had something to prove, or worry I was comparing him to someone else. If anything I was more worried about the girls he'd been with. As if it wasn't bad enough that Eric was gorgeous, he'd grown up in California where I was convinced beautiful girls grew on trees. The state was infested with them. What kind of girls would he be thinking of compared to me?

I was just some small town girl transplanted to the big city. There wasn't really anything too special about me. Yeah, Eric liked me but would that change when I told him I wasn't planning on sleeping with him anytime soon? The thought of him bailing on me for that reason made my heart sag and my stomach flip flop.

I went about my day and tried not to think about that conversation. It didn't have to happen right away and yet, there was a part of me that wanted to get it out of the way. I didn't want to get further attached to him if it wasn't going to work out. Besides it seemed kind of mean to not come clean with the way I felt about it. Sex was a big part of relationships and it didn't seem right to lead him on if I had no intention of following through on things.

By the time I got to work I was no closer to knowing what the right thing was to do. Amelia was behind the counter washing the little pots we used to steam milk when I got there. She had a much more open attitude about sex and she didn't hesitate to share her experiences. Most of the time she drifted into TMI territory but at the moment I needed advice. Maybe I was making too big a deal of it.

I grabbed one of the pots and then reached for the gallon of 2% milk in the mini fridge under the counter. I got to work steaming myself some so it was extra hot and had the espresso press working at the same time. Amelia didn't even seem to notice I was standing there. Maybe she was having a worse day than I was.

"You okay?" I asked Amelia when my bucket 'o latte was ready.

"When did you get here?" Amelia looked confused.

"About ten minutes ago," I smiled at her and took a sip, careful not to scald myself in the process.

"I didn't even notice," she said even though that much was obvious.

"Yeah, I got that. What's going on with you?" I leaned against the counter beside the sink.

"Copley is coming to town," she took a deep breath. "He doesn't know about Pam."

That wasn't the only thing Amelia's father didn't know. Amelia had grown up in a rather privileged life and was shuffled through some of the best prep schools any rich parent could buy their child's way into in New England. Amelia was raised to be a society wife and hated every second of it. She had no interest in being a debutant, or someday becoming a member of D.A.R. Copely, on the other hand, was more concerned with furthering his social connections and what better way to do that than to marry his daughter off to the highest bidder?

Amelia left her beautifully maintained Tudor style mansion the day after she turned eighteen and never looked back. However, that didn't stop her father from coming to town at least once a year to try and convince Amelia she was making a mistake by giving everything up. He threw cash at her she didn't want and tried to bribe her with fancy vacations, new cars, spa trips, pretty much anything he could think of to get her to change her mind. It never worked but he kept at it.

"Ames, why do you let him stress you out so much?" I asked her gently.

She sighed, turned off the water and then turned toward me while she dried her hands. "I know I shouldn't let him get to me. He's a prick and he doesn't approve of anything I do with my life. Hell, I could marry the guy of his choice, have three beautiful, genius children, maintain a gorgeous home and it still wouldn't be good enough. I'm not naïve enough to think he's ever going to accept me for what I am, regardless of what I do. But that doesn't mean I don't want him to."

I frowned at her and set a hand on her arm. I felt awful for her. Mom had her reservations about me leaving home but I knew she supported my goals. She never tried to talk me out of going to culinary school, or wanting to open my own business. Dad definitely never tried to force me into a shitty relationship because it was what _he_ thought was right for me. I couldn't even begin to understand where it was Amelia was coming from, but I could imagine how terrible it would be not to have my parents in my corner.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Anything I can do?" I offered since it was really all I had to work with.

"Not really. All I can do is grin and bear it. I don't really give a flying fuck what Copley thinks of me but I don't want him to insult Pam as a way of getting back at me. I don't know if having her meet him is the right thing to do and when I told her that, she was offended by it," Amelia told me and then I understood why she was so Debbie Downer.

"I can appreciate you wanting to protect Pam but she's a big girl. If you love her then you owe it to her to let this be her choice. If you want Copley's acceptance then that means accepting the ones you love," I pointed out and she took a deep breath.

Suddenly my problem didn't seem like such a problem anymore and I chastised myself mentally for getting all up in a lather over it. It would be fine. Eric and I would talk about it and whatever happened, happened.

"Thanks, Sookie," Amelia pulled me into a hug. "You're a good friend."

"Anytime, Ames," I squeezed her tight and hoped time started moving a little faster.

I couldn't wait to see Eric.

* * *

><p><strong>The revelation that both Eric and Sookie will be coming soon. Obviously they're both thinking about it. Any guesses how long it'll be before they finally give it up and lose their v-cards? Thanks for reading!<strong>


	7. Redheaded Bitches

Chapter 7: Redheaded Bitches

**EPOV**

I stopped outside of Goblins at the sight of Sookie bent over a table, wiping it down and clearing away mugs. There was a sexy wiggle of her hips as her arm moved over the table. With the exception of the picture she had texted to me earlier, I hadn't seen her since Sunday. It was only three days but it seemed like much longer than that.

I felt this rush every time I thought about her and the best part of my day was when I was talking to her. I was glued to my damn phone, constantly checking it to make sure I hadn't missed a call or a text from her. It was crazy how close to obsessed I was with her. It hadn't even been a week since I met her but it felt longer.

She was so easy to talk to and even though I would have preferred our conversations be face to face, I could certainly appreciate the phone time too. Being together everyday wasn't likely to happen, no matter how close we became. We each had busy schedules with work and school so our time would be limited. But I was willing to dedicate whatever free time I had to being with her.

"Hey, Eric," Sophie said as she approached from behind me.

I turned my head and smiled at her. I didn't know her very well but she was always nice to me when I went into the tattoo shop. "Hey Soph. How are you?"

"Pretty good, in need of a caffeine fix. How about you? Got an appointment with Godric?" She stood with her hip popped out and head tilted slightly while she twisted some of her hair around her fingers.

"Nah, I'm here to see Sookie," I looked through the big window just as Sookie was standing up.

"Oh. I didn't know you and Sookie were friends," Sophie's hands dropped to her hips.

"Godric introduced us last week after I got my tattoo done," I explained and Sophie nodded.

"That's cool," she started for the door and I reached for it to open it for her. "Thanks."

"No problem," I smiled at her as she passed me.

Sookie was back behind the counter and smiling at me as I walked through the door. That smile was addictive. The sparkle in her eyes and the way the right side of her mouth lifted a little higher than the left side. There was always just a hint of mischief in her eyes when she smiled, almost like she knew something the rest of us didn't.

"What can I get for you Sophie?" Sookie asked as Sophie approached the counter.

"Can I get a salted caramel latte and a chocolate croissant?" Sophie asked and leaned against the counter.

"Sure," Sookie kept on smiling and went about starting on the latte. "Did you want the croissant warmed up?"

"Nah, I have to get back to the shop. We're about to have a full house. Apparently some sorority decided everyone is getting their nose pierced," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Conformity by body modification. What will they think of next?" Sookie shook her head and I tried not to laugh.

"I know, right?" Sophie seemed pretty offended by the idea but I didn't see what the big deal was. If a group of girls want to show their solidarity by punching holes in their noses, who was I to stop them?

Sookie continued to work on Sophie's drink and packed up the croissant she'd asked for. Before she left, Sophie patted my arm. I watched her walk out the door and it wasn't until Sookie cleared her throat that I realized she'd come around the counter.

"See something you like there, did ya?" Sookie asked me with a hint of jealousy.

"I think Soph was flirting with me," I admitted and Sookie snorted.

"Um, duh," she looked at me like it was obvious.

"I don't usually pay attention to that kind of thing," I said with a shrug.

"Well not to be presumptuous or anything but you should know that I don't share," she said and I smiled at her.

"Me either," I stared at her lips, wanting to kiss her.

"Good." She stared up at me but before I could make a move on her, someone needed a refill on their coffee. "Hold that thought."

"How do you know what I was thinking?" I asked as she went back behind the counter to get the coffee.

She poured the coffee and set the pot back on the warming plate. She leaned on the counter so we were face to face and asked, "Does that mean you weren't thinking about kissing me?"

I leaned a little closer to her and said, "That's pretty much all I've been thinking about since you sent me that text this morning."

She giggled and said, "Oh yes, my morning hair is _so_ sexy."

"It is," I smiled at her. Truthfully it had run through my mind all the different ways her hair could have ended up like that with my assistance. That was no good since I was in class when the picture had come in.

It was a major distraction and I missed most of the second half of class because I was too busy paying attention to my phone. It was totally worth it, as far as I was concerned. But I couldn't keep letting that happen. I needed to figure out how to focus my attention back on my classes and not Sookie.

"I think you need to get your glasses checked," Sookie snorted.

"You'd still be beautiful," I smiled at her and she blushed slightly.

"You're getting kissed either way so quit making me blush," Sookie slapped at my hand and then walked away while I laughed.

Her modesty was refreshing. I was used to being around girls who were always being told how pretty they were and they completely let it go to their head. Confidence was good but arrogance wasn't. It took away from the compliment when the girl was all like, "Yeah. I know."

Girls who acted like that were the ones I ran away from as fast as I could. I wasn't interested in the princess types who wanted someone that was going to act like somewhat of a lapdog. I didn't want to be an accessory in their life and I definitely didn't want to spend all of my spare time coming up with ways to impress them.

I was a no frills kind of guy who preferred staying in and watching movies or reading books to going out and being seen all the time. I didn't require that much attention. I could be social and charming when I needed to but I preferred being one on one instead of one in a crowd. Given that my first date with Sookie was more like hanging out with an old friend, I wondered if maybe she felt the same way.

I hung back while Sookie worked. She made me the latte she promised and as much as I wanted to say I didn't like it, it was pretty damn good. I manned up and admitted it was delicious. "You were right; it's really good," I told her and the grin on her face was almost legendary.

"I told you so!" Sookie bounced and clapped her hands. "Now do you understand?"

She was silly and adorable the way she got all excited about a cup of coffee. I kept quiet though and let her enjoy her gloat. It was really too cute to stop. I realized that if it had been anyone else I probably would have been seriously annoyed and second guessed whether or not things were going to work out.

I sat with a book for a while so she could start on the clean up stuff before closing. Once the last customer was gone for the night she locked the door and cleared away the last of the mugs and trash. I fully admit I was staring at her ass as she bent over tables and crouched down to pick things up off the floor. She was wearing a pair of distressed jeans; a black low cut t-shirt and a gray cardigan. Her hair was up in a ponytail and it didn't seem like she was wearing much makeup.

I marked my page in the book I was reading and stuffed it back in my messenger bag. I got up and asked Sookie if I could do anything to help. She thought about for a moment and said, "You could put the chairs up on the table if you want."

"You got it," I took my bag over to the counter and left it there so I could put up the chairs for her.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I know I've said it before but Eric really was just the cutest thing ever. He didn't have to help me get the coffee shop cleaned up but since he offered, I put him to work. I figured the sooner we could get out of there, the sooner we could get to doing the things we would rather be doing and I'm pretty sure sweeping and refilling sugar containers wasn't anywhere on the list.

I turned around just in time to see Eric pick up a chair and flip it over to put it up on the table. As he flipped the chair it caught on his t-shirt and tugged it up a little bit, showing off a yummy sliver of his very sculpted tummy. Hell, _all_ of him was yummy. From that ridiculously sexy bedhead he seemed to constantly be sporting to the way his jeans hung low on his hips, I just want to devour him. He also caught me staring.

With my face flaming red I turned around again to refocus my attention on the sugars that needed filling. We were both stealing glances at each other now and then and I could feel his eyes on me when I was moving around the coffee shop to put the sugars back where they belonged. I noticed a little extra sway in my hips and a little bounce in my step as I moved.

"Need anything else?" Eric asked after he finished putting up the chairs for me.

"No thank you," I smiled at him and went to get the broom to sweep up.

I didn't get very far before he took it from me. "I got it," he said with a wink and kissed my forehead before taking over the sweeping duties for me.

He was such a sweetheart. I felt bad for putting him to work for a couple of seconds but he didn't seem to mind it and really, it was a big help. Before I knew it everything was done. I deposited my dirty apron and the wet dish towels into the laundry and went to the back room off of the kitchen to collect my jacket and purse. I walked out to the main area and took one last look around. Out the big front window I could see Eric talking to Sophie and I stepped back a little to hide behind the enormous espresso maker up on the counter.

I peered around the side of the machine to see Sophie throwing her head back and laughing at whatever she and Eric were talking about. Every couple of seconds her hand shot out to touch or grab him in some way and this jealousy rose up in me from out of nowhere. I had no right to really feel like Eric was mine—yet, anyway- but I didn't like the idea of her grubby little paws all over him.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and went to set the alarm before going outside and locking up the shop. I mocked Sophie's laugh while I locked the door and then schooled my face before going over and wrapping my arms around Eric's waist like it was no big thing. Sophie's eyes immediately trained themselves on me, clearly unimpressed with the territory marking I was doing.

"You ready to go?" I looked up at Eric, completely ignoring the fact that Sophie was standing there.

"Whenever you are," he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't pissed at me for clutching on him like I was.

"Where are you off to?" Sophie asked, looking right at Eric when she spoke.

"I'm not sure," he looked down at me. "Where are we going?"

I shrugged and said, "Wherever you want, but I have to stop by the house and let the dogs out."

"Then I guess we're going to your place," he said and I couldn't help but smile at that. I liked having him in my space. It felt right having him there.

"See you later, Sophie," I turned my smile on her but she wasn't nearly as happy to see it as Eric was. The way she looked back at me let me know she definitely didn't appreciate the fact that I had grabbed up what she had probably assumed would be her man in a short amount of time.

"Yeah, see you later. Bye Eric," she winked at him and my eyes widened as she turned around and walked away. That bitch. I wanted to claw her stupid, color contact wearing eyes out.

"Sookie?" Eric asked when I didn't turn around to head for the train like I should have.

"Sorry," I shook myself from my mini jealous rage and let Eric lead me down the sidewalk.

All of a sudden he pulled me around the side of a building and I was up against a brick wall. I looked up at him, wondering if maybe he was pissed at me after all, but the look in his eyes wasn't angry. He stared me down for a moment and then leaned down to kiss me. His lips on mine was easily the best part of my day.

His kisses were soft and slow, like he was trying to savor the feeling of it, or so I assumed since that's what I was doing. He gently pulled the elastic from my ponytail and ran his long fingers through my hair. I was tingling from head to toe and that only increased when I parted my lips and felt his tongue brush against the bottom one. I heard myself moan against his mouth and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

My hand settled on his waist and pulled him a little closer to me. Thanks to the height difference between us I felt the very firm bulge in his pants against my stomach and I was surprised that he didn't pull away. Maybe he was just too lost in it, or maybe he felt more comfortable with me than he did on Sunday. Whatever the reason, I was glad he didn't pull back.

Eric's hands never drifted below my neck and my hands only moved a little up his sides. I was perfectly content to stay there just like I was, kissing him silly for the rest of the night. That plan was totally wrecked when a couple of immature jerks started hollering and making catcalls at us. It was Eric who broke the kiss and I could tell by the little growl that escaped him that he wasn't happy about it.

"I really do have to get back home and let the dogs out," I said almost sadly. I didn't want to leave him just yet but I could understand if he needed to get home. I knew he had a big paper to write for one of his classes and I didn't want him to fall behind because of me. "You're welcome to come with me if you want but if you need to get home I understand."

"My paper can wait," he kissed my forehead.

"Are you sure?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"Positive," he grabbed my hand and we started toward the L.

It took about forty minutes to get back to my place but there's something to be said for holding hands and making out on the train. It definitely made the time pass much quicker and we almost missed our stop because of it. The dogs were thrilled to have another playmate around and Lucy, in particular, was happy to have Eric back. She was jumping all over him and I found myself wondering what it was about him that made it damn near impossible for redheads to keep their paws to themselves.

We stayed outside for a while, letting the dogs run around while we toss their toys for them to fetch and bring back to us. By the time we got them back into the brownstone it was close to midnight and I was starving. I hadn't eaten anything since I ran out for something before the rush that usually started around four and didn't let up until close to six.

Eric followed me into my house and after I kicked off my shoes and slid out of my cardigan I went to the sink to wash my hands. I contemplated what I had ingredients for in the fridge and grinned when I remembered the tomato sauce I'd made the day before. I handed the dish towel over to Eric when he was finished washing his hands as well.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him.

"I could eat."

"How do you feel about English muffin pizzas?" I asked and the rise of his eyebrow was almost cartoonish.

In a teasing way he said, "Such a refined palate enjoys such peasant food? I'm shocked."

"Well it's not Taco Bell…" I taunted and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Excuse me for thinking outside the bun," he shot right back, a proud grin on his face.

"Stifle yourself," I narrowed my eyes at him and headed over to the fridge to make sure I had everything I needed.

Eric came up behind me and his big arms circled my waist. His chin rested on top of my head and I began to pull the necessary ingredients from the fridge. He backed up when I bent down to get in the veggie drawer and I flushed a little when I realized my ass brushed against his crotch when I did so. It wasn't at all intentional but that wasn't really the point. I grabbed the mushrooms and when I stood up, I turned to see that familiar look in his eyes I had come to associate with kissing.

I nearly dropped the mushrooms when his lips landed on mine, and I moaned in surprise when he lifted me up and set me on the counter next to the fridge. My arms wrapped around his neck and my legs went around his waist. I was hungry but I'd be damned if I was going to turn down a few more kisses. Why did he have to be such a good kisser?

It was actually a good thing when my tummy rumbled because it forced us to pull apart. He kissed the corners of my mouth and then my nose before taking a step back. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"Eric, you don't _ever_ have to apologize for kissing me like that," I said and slipped off the counter. "So what do you like on your pizza anyway?"

Eric helped out as much as he could with the pizza prep. He was dazzled by my knife skills and insisted if I had given him the job of chopping onion and mushroom that we would also be getting pieces of his fingers as well. He was impressed when I told him the sauce was homemade and again that eyebrow of his crept toward his hairline when I told him I put bacon in my sauce.

"Bacon? Really?"

"Yes, bacon. It adds some salt and smokiness to the sauce. Trust me, it's delicious," I promised him.

I put him to work saucing up the muffin halves while I sautéed the onions and mushrooms. He sprinkled a little pecorino cheese on top of the sauce and when the veggies were ready, I spooned those onto the teeny pizzas. Eric followed behind with a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. All in all, the pizzas looked pretty good. We put them onto a cookie sheet and into the oven they went.

Since we couldn't think of anything else to do while we waited for them to cook, we ended up making out again. It was a perfectly acceptable way to spend our time and I figured it made up for the last two days that I hadn't seen him. I'd thought maybe there was product in his hair that made it all sexy bedhead but if there was, I didn't feel it in there. Damn. His hair was actually really soft and I found I liked running my fingers through it almost as much as he liked doing the same to me.

My legs wrapped around his waist and there was absolutely no doubt whatsoever that he was sporting some serious wood in his jeans. That reminded me of the conversation we needed to have and when his mouth moved down to my neck, I gasped for air. His kisses were gentle as he tested the waters. Hands that had been on my hips started to move up my sides and when I felt his thumbs on the side of my breasts, I gasped again.

Thankfully the timer went off on the oven before we could go any farther. When Eric pulled back and stood up he had that same dopey, happy look on his face. Seriously, he was so adorable.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! *runs away giggling*<strong>


	8. Virgins

Chapter 8: Virgins

**EPOV**

Friday night Sookie and I made plans to go see a play over at the Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier since she hadn't seen one yet and I needed to for one of my classes. A couple of hours with her in a relatively dark room seemed like a good idea when I first suggested it. The theater was relatively casual but we had agreed to dress up a little bit anyway. When I got to her place to pick her up all the air was sucked out of my chest at the sight of her.

She'd left her hair down but it was hanging in big curls and she was wearing a red, black and beige tartan dress with a pair of ridiculously high heels that made my mouth water, my pants tight and my head damn near explode. She looked stunning and I didn't hesitate to tell her so.

"Thank you. You clean up pretty nice yourself," she tilted her head to the side and looked me up and down.

I was wearing black dress pants and a maroon shirt that just happened to be the same color as her dress. Red was my favorite color but I didn't remember telling her that so it must have been just a happy accident. After a brief kiss hello so I didn't smudge her makeup, I helped her with her jacket and we were on our way. Rather than attempting to take a bunch of trains and buses to get where we were going, or paying through the nose for cab fare, Sookie led me to the garage where her car was parked.

The garage was big enough for five cars and there were two others besides her own parked there. I figured the old Challenger had to belong to her cousin and was shocked to learn it was Sookie's. Well, more accurately, it was her father's.

"Daddy actually bought this car brand new back when he was a teenager. It was the first car he ever owned and if my brother wasn't such a fucknut, it would be his right now instead of mine," Sookie pulled the keys from her purse.

"It's beautiful," I said as I walked around it. My old man would kill to be in the garage with me at the moment. He was by no means an expert on cars but he could definitely appreciate the classics and the one I was circling was almost as beautiful as the woman holding its keys.

"Ever driven a muscle car before?" Sookie asked, the keys swinging on her finger.

"No," I shook my head. "Dad always drove a truck and Mom's been the queen of minivans or station wagons for as long as I can remember."

"Think fast!" Sookie tossed the keys at me and I grabbed them out of the air.

"You're seriously going to let me drive this?" I raised an eyebrow at her. That was a pretty big declaration of trust and I wasn't sure what I'd done to earn that from her.

"I trust you," she said even though that went without saying. "Besides, driving in five inch heels isn't fun."

Without another word, Sookie cleared her throat and looked at the passenger's side door. It wasn't going to unlock itself, now was it? I hauled ass over there and unlocked the door for her. She smiled at me before sitting down and I closed the door for her. I ran around the back of the car to get in the driver's side and was thrilled when I saw the little knob up on the inside, letting me know she had leaned over the seat to unlock my door for me.

I slid into the car next to her and I swear, it felt like I belonged there. The car purred like a kitten on steroids and Sookie grabbed the remote from the glove compartment to open the garage door. When I left my apartment I never would have guessed that I would be driving such an amazing piece of automotive history. If Stan knew shit about cars he would be one jealous son of a bitch when I told him about it.

The ride to Navy Pier wouldn't take very long and Sookie already had one of the local classic rock stations on in the car, making me think she had been planning this little surprise for me since I mentioned the idea of going to see the play back on Wednesday night. We had watched _Office Space_ while eating our mini pizzas and I actually ended up falling asleep on Sookie's couch.

It was hard not to. We were snuggled in together watching the movie and it just sort of happened. Thankfully I'd told her about my earlier schedule in the mornings so when she woke up at just after six; she was sweet enough to wake me up too. If I wouldn't have had a class at nine I probably would have stayed and hung out a while longer but that wasn't really possible.

"So, what do you think?" Sookie asked once we were on our way.

"This car is amazing," I said without hesitation.

It was a surprisingly smooth ride and it didn't take very long to get to Navy Pier from Sookie's house. The trickier part was finding a place to park once we got there. With that all settled, we walked along the pier with Sookie's arm looped through mine. It was two weeks into October so it wasn't too cold out yet, although the breeze coming off the lake had Sookie's teeth chattering a little every now and then.

We ducked inside and walked around in some of the gift shops for a while before finally making our way over to the theater. We were seeing _Romeo & Juliet_, which Sookie had told me she pretty much had memorized for a while back when she had a serious crush in Leonardo DiCaprio. I just rolled my eyes at that, which meant she was rolling her eyes at me.

"He was my first love, Eric. Get over it," she hugged me after she'd said that, which made it easier to take.

We stood together, hand in hand, with her leaning against me while we waited for the doors to open. We were dressed a little nicer than most of the people in the crowd who were under the age of thirty. Sookie looked beautiful and I leaned down to tell her as much. As per usual, she flushed a little but smiled up at me when she said thank you. Her cheeks were close to matching the color of her dress.

I noticed she didn't smell like her usual coffee and cinnamon, but she smelled fantastic all the same. She started to sort of hop from one foot to another and I looked down at her curiously, since I had no idea what she was doing.

"I'm not used to these shoes. I borrowed them from Claudine's closet," Sookie explained with a slight grimace on her face.

Had we not been waiting in line to see a play, I would have knelt down so she could hop on my back. Unfortunately that wasn't a possibility so she was just going to have to wait it out. I tried to distract her in the meantime, although I'm not sure how successful I was at it since she kept hopping from one foot to the other. My preferred method of distracting her would have been to kiss her, but again, that seemed inappropriate.

"I'm convinced that whoever invented shoes like these hates feet," Sookie said when there was a lull in the conversation.

"Perhaps," I bent my knees a little and whispered in her ear, "But you look incredibly sexy in them."

Her breath catching in her throat was a better thank you than any words she could have said. I kissed her temple and then straightened up just in time for the doors to open ahead of us.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

The play was fantastic and dinner afterward was even better. I hadn't made it to Ed Debevic's, so I was elated when Eric said he wanted to go there. Our waitress was fantastically rude and I adored her for it. The food was delicious, in spite of all the grease, and by the time we got back to my house my feet felt like they were five sizes bigger and on fire.

When we got out of the car, which Eric parked perfectly in its spot, he came around to open my door for me. I had already taken my shoes off and just the idea of standing made me want to cry. I could live without my feet, right? Yeah, it would be nice to wear sexy shoes for my boyf—Eric, but it wasn't necessary.

What surprised me was when he knelt down by the door and I asked, "What are you doing?"

"Hop on," he looked over his shoulder at me.

"Eric, I can walk," I protested.

"You can but you don't have to. I know your feet are killing you," he pointed out. "Seriously, Sookie, you aren't going to break me."

I knew that to be true. He'd already picked me up once to put me on the counter in the kitchen but that was different than walking with me on his back to my little coach house. All the same, if he offered, I wasn't going to decline a second time. I'd offered him an out and he didn't take it.

I grabbed up my shoes and slid my jacket on. After locking the car door I carefully wrapped myself around Eric's back, careful not to put too much pressure on his throat. If I choked him out we were both in deep shit. I held on mostly with my legs and after he got the car door closed, he looped his arms under my knees for added support. I rested my chin on his shoulder for the short ride to my house and when he reached my door, he set me down so I could get it open.

Not that he needed an invitation, but he didn't wait for one before following me inside. I dropped the evil shoes by the door and I barely had my purse set down on the table before I was being attacked by the incredibly sexy (and strong) giant behind me. He kissed me hard and until I was breathless before pulling back.

"I've been wanting to do that since I first saw you tonight," he explained and I nodded because I felt the same way.

The boy looked amazing in his tight dress pants and the maroon button down with just the right number of buttons left undone. After the play he'd rolled his sleeves up a little bit and while we were at dinner I had asked about some of his tattoos and what had inspired them. They all came with their own story and I loved the way his face lit up when he talked about them. He was just three months shy of his twentieth birthday and already he had half of his arm covered in ink. It was fucking sexy as hell.

We kissed our way to the couch and I ended up in his lap, my hands running through his hair while his kneaded my hips. I felt him harden beneath me and purely on instinct; I rocked my hips against him. Eric froze for a moment and I worried I'd done something wrong.

"Everything okay?" I asked when I pulled back.

"Yeah, fine," he said but I could tell something was off.

"Eric…" I tilted my head, imploring him to 'fess up and tell me what was going on.

He actually looked nervous and I didn't want to push but I knew he was holding something back. It took him a few moments but then he finally started talking.

"I probably should have told you this sooner but there's something you should know about me," he was looking me in the eyes which was a good sign.

"Okay," I nodded, bracing myself for whatever bomb he was about to drop on me.

It occurred to me that maybe he was stashing a girlfriend away somewhere and just hadn't mentioned it. God, I hoped that wasn't the case. I also hoped I hadn't been reading him wrong and he wasn't going to tell me that he wanted to be just friends or something, because that would really, _really_ suck. I wasn't at all prepared for what he told me.

"Sookie, I'm a virgin," he blurted out and my jaw dropped.

Totally blindsided.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

It felt good to get the truth off my chest, but the way Sookie was looking at me did little to ease my nerves. She looked completely baffled by my confession. It took her a moment to formulate her response but when she beamed one of those irresistible smiles at me, I started to feel better.

"You're not going to believe this," Sookie shook her head, an expression of disbelief on her face.

"Try me," I had no idea what she was going to say but I wanted to hear it.

"I'm a virgin, too," she sat back in my lap, putting a little more space between us.

I mirrored her shocked expression from the moment before. It wasn't that I thought she was lying to me because I knew how it felt when someone assumed that was just a line I was using, but it was just hard to believe. She was gorgeous and I knew firsthand how passionate she could be. Then again, I could be the same way so she was probably wondering the same thing I was.

"Why?" I blurted out and she lifted an eyebrow at me. "I mean… what made you wait?"

Sookie shrugged and said, "I'm not willing to settle. How about you?"

"Same," I nodded with a smile and she smiled back. But then my smile faded because I knew there was more I had to confess to her. "There's more."

"Okay," she said again and waited for me to speak.

"I know we don't know each other very well and we haven't talked about what this is between us yet, and I'm okay with that. We don't need to have that talk right away," I told her and she nodded.

"I agree. We don't need to put a label on it until we're ready," she said and I liked the fact that she used the word 'we' twice in the same sentence.

"Exactly. So the other thing I need for you to know is that I want you," I told her and the look of surprise on her face was one I would never forget.

"You mean you want me to be your first?" she asked for clarification and I nodded. Sookie sucked her bottom lip between her teeth for all of three seconds before launching herself forward and kissing me with the same hunger and passion as I had kissed her when we first walked into her house.

* * *

><p><strong>*counts how many chapters are left before they're not virgins anymore* You want to know, don't you ? Too bad I'm not telling! *runs away giggling* <strong>


	9. Marking My Territory

**Check me out updating early! I'm in a generous mood this morning, which is why you're getting this chapter now instead of 12 hours from now. I also wanted to thank everyone for their reviews, alerts, favorites, etc. that I've been receiving. I'm happy you all seem to be enjoying the story so far. That said, we'll get another dose of Stan in this chapter so I hope you enjoy his snarky, trollish ways.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9: Marking My Territory<span>

**SPOV**

It was Sunday afternoon, two weeks after we went to see _Romeo & Juliet_. Eric had met me at Goblins and I was finally going over to his place. He had warned me that his roommate was an interesting character and I knew Eric was hoping that Stan was in a video game trance when we arrived so maybe he wouldn't even notice we were there. He told me he'd made an entire dinner once and Stan didn't even notice someone else was in the apartment.

"Sounds like a great watch dog," I joked as we walked down North Avenue together. Halloween was in three days.

"He's my best friend in the whole world when he wants to be but those games… I don't know how he can sit there for so many hours," Eric shook his head.

"Maybe I need to find him a girl," I suggested and Eric kind of grimaced at that. "What? Is Stan not into girls?"

Eric laughed and said, "No, that's not the problem. The problem is finding a girl who is going to be tolerant of all the gaming. I don't see him giving up the games for just anyone."

"How about Sophie? I'm sure she'd get his attention with her multi-colored hair and creepy as fuck spider body trying to climb all over him," I didn't even bother to try and hide my contempt for her.

"Sookie, you know she's just trying to get a rise out of you," Eric said and I stopped on the sidewalk.

"Uh, no, _boyfriend_, I think she's trying to get a rise out of _you_," I stared down at his crotch.

Eric and I had made it another week before having that talk about relationship status. We both were able to admit that we had zero ability to share when it came to significant others and since neither of us wanted to see anyone else anyway, we decided we were just going to see each other. The next conversation was about PDA, since Eric had absolutely no problem pulling me into a corner, pushing me up against a wall or getting me in his lap to kiss me. I wasn't necessarily against PDA but I figured there had to be a limit somewhere.

All the same, we were almost always holding hands or had our arms around each other. We were always touching in some capacity, and every now and then Eric would blitz me with a kiss that made my toes curl and my lady bits tingle. He was an excellent kisser and I was anxious to see what else he would be good at. Unfortunately, so was Sophie, and I was about split that bitch's lip the next time she got it in her mind to get all cutesy with Eric.

"So what if she is? You know I'm not interested in her! Besides, do you _really_ want her hanging around my apartment with Stan?" Eric pointed out and my brows knit together in defeat. He had a point. Dammit. "Come on, Sookie, let's go."

His tone was calm and there was no smug gloating coming from him. He reached for my hand, laced his fingers with mine and kissed my wrist. He was too sweet to me sometimes. We walked the rest of the way back to his apartment and I was impressed by how nice it was. We rode the elevator up to the fifth floor and I surprised Eric when I pushed _him_ against the wall for a change and kissed the daylights out of him.

Gotta keep things interesting, right? By the tightening in Eric's jeans I would say he was _very_ interested. We still weren't having sex, although it was becoming more and more likely that we eventually would. He wasn't rushing for it and neither was I. Because we both understood where the other was coming from, that relieved the pressure to do it and get it over with. When it felt right, it was something we would discuss and see where the other one of us was.

Just knowing that Eric wanted me that way took a lot of worry out of my mind. I really had been flummoxed when he admitted he was a virgin. Obviously just because a girl wanted to climb him like a tree didn't mean she got to, but still… it was just rare for a guy to say no. Especially a teenage male. I know it sounds stereotypical but it had reached that status for a reason. Most teenage boys aren't equipped to turn it down when sex it's offered.

I pulled back when the elevator came to a stop, much to Eric's disappointment, and pulled him from the car into the hall. I had no idea where we were going and after pulling me back into his arms, Eric led me down the hall and to the left. We came to a stop outside apartment 505 and he slipped his key into the lock. I could hear the sounds of gunfire coming from inside his apartment.

"Stan's home, huh?" I pressed my face against his back.

"Sounds like it," he said and I could hear his voice under my ear that was pressed against his back. It was kinda weird and cool at the same time.

Eric got the door open and ushered me inside. The place definitely smelled like teenage boy. It was that odd combination of stale leftovers, sweat and I don't even want to think about what else went into making it smell the way it did. It wasn't entirely disgusting but it definitely wasn't like walking into my coach house which almost always smelled like coffee or some type of spice. Oh, or cleaning products.

"Sorry it's a bit messy. I tried to clean up in here before I left but Stan has a tendency to let shit pile up around him," Eric explained as we walked further into the apartment.

"I heard that, fucker!" Stan shouted and I laughed quietly.

"He's got good hearing for a gamer," I leaned over and whispered. "What other tricks does he do?"

"I steal girlfriends!" Stan answered for him as we approached. The game went on pause and Stan turned around just as we were walking into the living room. "Hello, future Mrs. Davis," he said with a totally pervy look on his face that I would have been offended by if it wasn't so over-the-top.

Eric growled all the same and I wanted to point out that was his karmic payback for ignoring Sophie like he did but I figured that was an argument we could have later when Stan wasn't on standby, waiting to swoop in on his prey. Then again, Stan just wasn't my type at all. He was an interesting blend of nerd and cowboy that I wasn't really sure worked the way he wanted it to, but then again, who was I to judge? Stan wasn't much taller than me and he had a bit of a pot belly from all the time he spent in front of the TV playing video games, eating junk food and sucking back Mountain Dew like it was going out of production—which for the good of mankind, it probably should.

"Stan, this is _my_ girlfriend, Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie, this turd is my roommate, Stan Davis," Eric introduced us.

Stan shook the hand that I offered and said, "Don't listen to him. I think my last name would look good on you."

I heard another growl from Eric behind me and the wink I got from Stan made me laugh. He was so totally fucking with Eric's head and I loved every second of it. A strong hand pulled me back and I let my arms go around Eric's waist. With me anchored to his side I knew he'd calm his tits, even if there was nothing for them to get excited over. He had such a good sense of humor most of the time but when that jealous streak of his flared up, watch out!

"You should know we have a standing rule around here about topless Tuesdays!" Stan called as Eric led me out of the room.

"I swear I'm going to kick his ass later," Eric said as he showed me around.

Their kitchen wasn't very big but it was full of new stainless steel appliances. They had dual wall ovens that I was jealous of; especially considering I was pretty sure neither of them cooked anything but frozen pizzas in there. So unfair. There wasn't a dining room so they ate in the kitchen. Well, _Eric_ ate in the kitchen. Stan mostly ate in the living room or his bedroom, according to Eric.

The place was pretty neutral in the kitchen and living room, which was what I would expect from a couple of teenage boys. They were operating on a low level of functionality without much decoration around the place. All the white was sort of blinding to me. I would feel like I was living in a sanitarium if I were them.

Eric led me down the hallway and pointed out Stan's bathroom. "Use that at your own risk. I don't even know if he's cleaned it since we moved in."

I crinkled my nose and said, "Thanks for the warning."

Stan's bedroom door was closed and had a bio-hazard sign on it. I took it seriously.

The apartment had central heat and air conditioning and was controlled by a thermostat, which was awesome. At the end of the hallway was Eric's bedroom. His door was also closed and the second I walked in, I knew it was his room because it smelled like him. There were books all over the place, which I wasn't surprised by. His bed was enormous and took up a pretty large portion of his room. His bed was made and covered over with a navy blue comforter. His desk was organized and there was a printer on the shelf above it, along with an iPod dock. His laptop was resting on top of the desk, along with some of his books for school.

"Clearly your dad influenced the neatness in here," I smiled over at him, totally relieved I wasn't going to have to take careful steps to avoid stepping on a landmine of junk to get to his bed.

"Yeah, a lifetime of keeping things neat and organized doesn't really go away," Eric agreed with a smile and opened one of two doors in his room. "Here's the bathroom," he said and stepped out of the way.

"Holy hell," I said when I walked in. The bathroom was huge! "Nice tub," I went over to the big whirlpool tub in the corner.

I bit my bottom lip when I imagined the two of us in there. My cheeks flushed and I turned my head to see a shower stall that was definitely big enough for two. My heart was racing at all the images flooding my mind and I tried to get myself under control.

"I haven't used it yet but maybe someday," he winked at me, clearly having had a few of the same thoughts I was having. My blush deepened and he took my hand to lead me out of the bathroom.

"So, Mr. Northman, what's behind door number three?" I smiled at him, hoping my cheeks were starting to return to their usual pallor.

"See for yourself," he gestured and I reached out to open the door.

The door swung open easily and I gasped at what I saw. It was like a small library in there! I was guessing it was supposed to be a closet and part of it was used to store clothes, but mostly it was full of bookshelves. Holy crap.

"Wow," I looked up at him. "Like books much?"

"Very much," he said with a smile on his face.

I let go of his hand to browse the titles and I noticed they were all in alphabetical order by author. He even seemed to have them all broken down by genre like a real library would. He had quite an impressive array of reading material, from text books to non-fiction, to science fiction and then literature. I already knew he was a big fan of Steinbeck and I was pretty sure he had everything the author every published. Those spines were a little more creased than others; if that was any indication of how many times the books had been read.

"This is amazing, Eric," I smiled up at him from my crouched position on the floor where I was running my fingers over the _Lord of the Rings_ series, which I had never read.

"Thank you," he said with pride.

"You know I've never read Tolkien," I confessed and Eric looked disturbed. "I've never seen the movies either."

"Oh we'll fix that," he promised me and offered a hand to help me up.

I would have complained or protested but I could imagine spending a cold winter day snuggled in bed with him, watching the movies. For him, I would be willing to bite my tongue and give it a chance. Of course I would have to make him watch a bunch of sappy chick flicks, but something told me that if it meant spending a day in bed together he wouldn't mind it.

"So what do you think?" Eric asked once they were standing in his bedroom again.

"I think you have a very nice apartment," I looked around and my eyes settled on his bed. "And a bed that was made for jumping on."

"I'm pretty sure I'd renovate the ceiling if I tried," Eric went over and flopped back on his bed.

I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do and then I figured the hell with it. I launched myself up onto his bed—which I would damn near need a step stool to get on otherwise- and got up on my feet to start jumping. Eric remained stretched out while I jumped, his eyes very clearly focused on my most bouncy parts. When I collapsed it was right on top of him. He grunted with the impact but we were both laughing.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" I asked just to be sure.

"Not even close," he laughed and pulled my face to his to kiss me.

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><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I hate to sound like a typical teenage male but the sight of Sookie lying next to me in my bed was something I could get used to. It would have been nice if she would have kept on jumping, but her moving to sit on my thighs was okay too. The last three weeks had been great. It would have been nice to spend more time with her but we were seeing each other at least twice a week. I would try to stop in at Goblins when I knew she was working. Even if I only got a few minutes with her before she had to get back to work it was better than nothing.

"So what do you want to do?" Sookie let her hands rest on my stomach.

"I'm hungry," I admitted. I hadn't eaten since breakfast much earlier that morning. "I was thinking about ordering in Chinese food."

"You know I could make it for you, right? I actually make some pretty good homemade egg rolls," Sookie offered but I shook my head.

"Nope, I'm cooking for you for a change," I said and she rolled her eyes. I wasn't a chef and while I was getting an education thanks to my sexy as hell girlfriend, I wasn't really cut out for kitchen duty.

"Fine, you win," she climbed off of me but that was just an invitation for me to roll over on top of her, which is exactly what I did.

She laughed and squirmed underneath me (which was sort of evil) while I did my human blanket impression. It included nuzzling her neck and sort of rubbing myself against her, which only made her laugh harder. I loved that I could be a total dork around her and she didn't care. Hell, the weirder I was the more she seemed to like me. It was refreshing not to have to try and hide facets of my personality. She didn't care that I was a virgin and because she was too, I didn't worry about having to step up my game.

We could take our time and move at our own pace without worrying the other one was going to get bored and leave because they were tired of waiting. What surprised me the most about Sookie was how much fun we had together. While we had things in common, we were also very different creatures in a lot of ways. Sookie wasn't much of a morning person and without a cup of coffee in her first, she was dangerously close to unapproachable. The grumbles and pouts she gave until the coffee was ready were adorable though.

"Hey, human blanket," she tapped my shoulder and I grumbled against her neck. "I have to go tinkle."

I laughed at her choice of words but got off of her so she could get up. I watched her walk to the bathroom and close the door behind her. The sway of her hips when she moved was hypnotizing if I stared for too long. When I rolled to the side I could still smell her hair (which was where that cinnamon scent came from) lingering on my pillow. I pulled my phone from my pocket and scrolled through my contacts to get the number for the Chinese place nearby that I always ordered from.

I heard the flush of the toilet and then the sound of running water a few moments later. When Sookie came out of the bathroom she climbed back onto my bed with me and grabbed the picture that was on my nightstand. It was a picture of me with my family the day I left for school. Mom had insisted on one last group picture, almost like she thought I was dying instead of going off to college.

"This is your family?" Sookie looked over at me.

"Yep," I shifted a little closer to her.

"Which sister is which?" Sookie asked with her head against my shoulder.

"Lacey is the one standing next to me," I pointed.

Amber was standing in front of Dad and Mom was standing next to him in the middle. I was next to Mom and Lacey was standing on my other side with my arm around her shoulders. All of us were smiling and looked every bit like the All-American family.

"Nice house," Sookie's head turned a little.

"Yes it is," I agreed with a nod. We'd lived there for as long as I could remember. It was a stucco Spanish style house with a terra cotta tiled roof. There were tropical plants in the yard and flowers lining the walkway from the driveway to the front door.

"I have to go home next weekend," Sookie informed me with a frown on her face as she put the picture back where it belonged. "I was supposed to drive up this weekend but I didn't feel like it."

"How'd Mama Stackhouse react to that?" I asked her, knowing she had a pretty good relationship with her mom.

"As long as I go home next weekend there shouldn't be any trouble," Sookie turned on her side. "Are you going home for Thanksgiving?"

"I don't know," I turned so I was facing her. "I was considering it but I'm not sure if I want to or not."

"Well, I don't really have a choice in the matter. Mom'll lose her mind if I don't go home. Besides, my Aunt Linda, cousin Hadley and her son Hunter are flying up from Louisiana and I haven't seen Hadley in a couple of years. And I miss my Gran," she explained with a hint of a frown on her face.

From everything Sookie had told me about her family, they sounded like quite a lively bunch. I didn't know when or if I would ever meet them, but I wanted to. Her Gran, in particular, sounded like a pretty interesting person and if nothing else, I could only imagine what the conversation would be like if she ever got in a room with my father, being that Gran was an Army veteran herself.

"Just so you know, there's a distinct possibility I may want to run away with your Gran at some point," I teased Sookie and she narrowed her eyes.

"I lose more boyfriends to her that way…" she trailed off, content to play along with me.

I consoled her with a kiss and when I rolled onto my back she rolled with me so the top half of her was resting on my chest. My hands were in her hair, my fingers tangling in the soft, silky strands. Sookie slung one of her legs over my hip and pulled herself on top of me and her hands snaked under my shirt. Her fingers moved smoothly up my stomach and her mouth left mine in favor of my jaw.

"I love this little scruff," she whispered and nibbled at my jaw near my ear.

I know I twitched under her. The smell of cinnamon was intoxicating and her hands were so warm as they traveled over my skin. My hands moved down her back and she giggled against my neck when they landed on her butt. She had a great butt and I'd told her that several times. The girl drove me crazy.

I had just rolled over on top of her and was attacking her neck with little kisses that made her laugh when Stan decided to make his presence known by pounding on my bedroom door and shouting, "If she's laughing, you're not doing it right!"

Asshole.

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><p><strong>Stan is such a fucking troll and I love him to death for it. To be perfectly honest, I still don't know how Eric and Stan afford this apartment but somehow they do. Whatevs. I suppose that isn't really that important to the story. Anyway... still no naked time but we're a chapter closer. <strong>

**But speaking of naked time! I guest authored a new chapter of Missy Dee's "Friday Night Blues." She's listed as one of my favorite authors if you go to my profile page. Chapter 14, "The Golden Rule" is written by yours truly and will give you the smut you're missing from this story. It's the first threeway I've ever written. It's also probably the dirtiest thing I've ever written, and that's saying something if you've read "Love With a Stranger." So, anyway... there's a link to more smut. Thanks for reading!  
><strong>


	10. Parting Gift

Chapter 10: Parting Gift

**EPOV**

"I'm just getting off the train now. I'll be there in like ten minutes," I told Sookie as I headed for the stairs that led to street level.

"Hurry up. I want to kiss you," she told me and I knew that feeling all too well.

Between her school and work schedule and the mountain of homework I was doing I hadn't seen her since the previous Sunday and that was far too long. She was leaving the following afternoon to drive up to her parents' house and wouldn't be back until late Sunday evening. I didn't know what the hell I was going to do with myself for the next two days and there was no way I was letting her leave town without seeing her.

"I want to kiss you too," I said and even though we probably could have stayed on the phone while I walked to her house, we hung up.

The walk didn't take long and when I got to the front gate of the brownstone, Lucy and Ethel were running around. Lucy came running up to the gate, eager for a little playtime before I abandoned her to get to Sookie. I let myself in and paused for just a minute to scratch the dog between her ears. She tried to lick my hand but I pulled back.

"Sorry girl, there's someone else I need to get kisses from," I apologized and looked up in time to see Sookie running toward me.

She jumped on me, climbing me like the little monkey she could be sometimes. Just as she promised, she laid one hell of a kiss on me and the temptation to just drop down right there in the lawn was overwhelming. Kissing her meant an instant hard-on and it was starting to get painful not to follow through on what my body wanted.

"I missed you too," I said when she pulled back.

"Oh that wasn't an 'I miss you' kiss. That was just hello," she grinned at me. If that was true, I was about to be a happy bastard. "The 'I miss you' kiss isn't suitable for public viewing," she whispered in my ear. Shit.

"Then lead the way," I put her down but I got pulled into another kiss and I ended up wrapping my arms around her and lifting her up again. She fit against me perfectly but she was way too short for us to be making out like that for long.

I walked back to the coach house with a Sookie shaped barnacle attached to me. The dogs followed and were extremely disappointed when they weren't invited inside to play with us. Sookie pulled me back toward her bedroom with eyes full of lust fixed on me. I tackled her back on her bed and her legs wrapped around my waist. Did she really have to go back to Wisconsin for the weekend? Spending the next forty-eight hours in bed with her sounded much better.

"Do you really have to go home?" I asked as my hips rubbed against hers.

She moaned and said, "Mom'll send a search party if I don't."

"Then I guess we better enjoy what time we have," I nibbled her bottom lip, which I knew she liked, and then sucked on it.

I felt her tremble under me and when my hands went to the hem of her t-shirt and slid under it, there was no protest. We were moving along slowly, at a rate that was comfortable to us and as hard as it was sometimes to remember to take it easy, I still wasn't at the point where I was quite ready to sleep with her. I had come to the conclusion that I wanted to be in love with her first and at the rate we were going, it wouldn't be long.

We rolled over and Sookie sat up with her legs straddling my hips. My hands were still under her shirt but hadn't quite reached her breasts yet. Her skin was so warm and soft. That overworked bottom lip of hers was drawn between her teeth and her eyes met mine as she pulled her shirt off and dropped it on the floor. I'm pretty sure my eyes glazed over when they drifted down to her chest. She was wearing a bright red lacy bra that looked perfect against her golden-brown skin.

Sookie grabbed my hands and put them on her breasts. She smiled at me and then leaned down again. Her hips moved against mine while my lips attacked hers. Her boobs filled my big hands pretty easily and she moaned when I pulled the cups down. Her arms shifted around to her back to unhook the damn thing and my lips were still on hers while we struggled to get it off of her.

Once the red lace was gone she sat up again and my hands moved to admire what was uncovered. I groaned at how perfect her breasts were. Full, round and perky enough that I would think plastic surgery was responsible if I didn't know better. I could see her tattoo on her side and I ran my finger along it.

"You've got boobs in front of you and you focus on the tattoo?" Sookie lifted an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, they'll get plenty of attention," I promised her and then pulled her face back to mine.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

My plan was to leave town after giving Eric something to remember me by. We'd been seeing each other for almost a month and as fantastic as the making out was, I was ready to move on from it. He'd gotten boob privileges starting the previous Sunday. I'd kept my shirt on but when he let his hands do a little wandering, I didn't try to bat them away. He was gentle with me and didn't try to get any farther than that.

My hips rocked against his and he groaned against my mouth. Making out was never more awesome in my life. As he promised, plenty of attention was paid to my boobs and when his hands weren't there, they were on my hips, rocking me back and forth on top of him. Jesus, it felt good. Did I really have to go home? Ugh.

His hands slid around to my ass as his hips bucked up a little and in my mind I imagined what that would feel like if we were wearing less clothes. Eric was a fantastic kisser and when he moved further down my neck, he looked up into my eyes for permission to keep going. I shifted a little, putting my chest closer to his face and the deep growl I got in response did unbelievable things to me.

He kissed my breasts lightly at first instead of diving into them like a puppy would a bowl of fresh kibble, which I appreciated. This was new for both of us, and so it went without saying that neither of us knew what we were doing. We were experimenting with each other, trying to figure out what we liked and what we didn't, and I trusted him enough to know that he would stop if I said I wasn't comfortable.

Sex talks were always awkward but we were able to agree that communication was crucial. I didn't want to keep doing something if he didn't like it and I knew he felt the same way. So we swallowed the awkward turtle and talked like grownups. I figured if we weren't mature enough to talk about it, we probably weren't mature enough to be doing it.

We rolled again and Eric slithered down my body with his hands cupping his new toys. He moved back and forth, kissing the tip of each one while watching my face carefully. My fingers slid into his hair and held him to me. The teasing was almost excruciating and when his lips finally closed around one of my nipples, my eyes squeezed shut and my hips rolled. The combination of his breath, lips and hands on me was probably my favorite thing in the whole world. Maybe even better than my first cup of coffee in the morning.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" Eric asked when he looked up at me with a devilish smile on his face before lowering his mouth to the other breast.

I moaned again and my hips moved like they had a mind of their own. I would have squeezed my thighs together in hopes of finding a little friction if it weren't for the fact that Eric was firmly wedged between them. He shifted just a little and I realized when he did that if I kept moving the way I was, I would be giving him a little happy of his own since I was rubbing against the bulge in his jeans.

I reached to pull off his t-shirt as well and he was reluctant to part with my skin so I could get his shirt off. I have no idea where it landed when I dropped his shirt on the floor. His mouth covered mine again and being skin to skin with him felt amazing. I never wanted it to end.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

She was perfect. I know that's a dangerous label to put on a person but in Sookie's case, it was absolutely true. Her skin tasted as good as her lips. The sweetness was almost as addictive as the little noises she made whenever I did something she liked. It was all trial and error and I was more than happy to try different things to see what worked and what didn't. Being on equal footing was a good thing. It meant we weren't quite so awkward about things and we talked a lot about what we liked and what we didn't.

We were honest with each other, which was probably the hardest part since we didn't want to hurt each other's feelings. The way I saw it, it was better for her to speak up now than it was for her to suffer in silence if I was doing something that didn't work for her. Unlike a couple of the guys I knew in high school, I didn't believe that sex was supposed to be good for only one half of the couple. I figured if I was lucky enough to actually have sex with Sookie, the very least I could do was make sure she enjoyed it.

At the moment she was rocking her hips against me in a slow, grinding rhythm that was doing amazing things. The way she moved was so incredibly sexy but if she didn't stop I was going to have a serious problem. As much as I didn't want to, I pulled back.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked breathlessly.

"Nothing's wrong, and that's the problem," I smiled at her and she looked confused. "Whatever it is you're doing with your hips feels really good, but if you keep it up, I won't be able to, if you know what I mean."

Sookie chuckled and said, "Well maybe I don't want you to keep it up."

She grabbed the waistband of my jeans and pulled me closer to her again. Her fingers fiddled with the button on my jeans and the way she was looking at me told me she had a plan and I had walked right into it. My breath caught and I knew I had about two seconds to decide whether or not we were going to take another step further. She popped the button and kept her eyes on mine, watching carefully to make sure I wasn't trying to get her to stop. Really all it would take was moving her hand away and I knew it wouldn't even been up for discussion; it would just stop.

But I didn't want her to stop.

She carefully worked the zipper of my jeans and reached into my boxers. Based on the redness creeping up her neck I knew she was nervous. Her hands were shaking a little as well and it was good to know I wasn't the only one holding my breath. But then her warm palm wrapped around my erection and stroked a little. Her eyes stayed on mine and she nibbled her bottom lip.

"Tell me what to do," Sookie kept looking up at me and I could see the bounce in her chest where her heart was beating. Again, at least I wasn't alone.

I pulled her hand away and sat up against the headboard of her bed. She shifted herself and got in my lap so she was sitting on my thighs. She reached into my jeans again and carefully freed my cock from my boxers. She looked down and the way her eyes widened would have been comical if she wasn't so nervous.

"Jesus, do you need a permit to carry that?" she looked me in my eyes and I couldn't help laughing.

"Not that I know of," I wrapped my hand around hers and she was biting her bottom lip again. "Sookie, relax."

I guided her hand up and down, showing her the right amount of pressure and when to twist her hand. When she seemed to have it down, I pulled her lip from between her teeth and leaned forward to kiss her. I knew I wasn't going to last for very long. Between her hands stroking me, her lips on mine and her breasts in my hands, I was on overload.

I groaned when her thumb brushed over my head and the added wetness only made the handjob I was getting that much better. _Way_ better than doing it myself in the shower. Holy shit. Sookie moved her mouth to my neck and sucked a little while I was pinching and rolling her nipples in my fingers. Her moans against my skin were killing me a little at a time.

"Fuck, Sookie," I grunted when my hips started to move a little.

"Feels good?" she asked in a slightly nervous but sultry way.

"Fucking amazing," my eyes rolled into the back of my head. "Keep going."

"God, you're so big," she whispered in my ear and bit my lobe. "You're going to feel so good inside me."

Fuck. I was done for. That little bit of dirty talk was all it took to completely throw me over the edge and I was barely able to warn her before I lost total control and blew my load. She didn't move out of the way in time and it landed on her stomach and breasts. If I could have come a second time, I probably would have.

I pulled her face to mine and kissed her deeply. What I wasn't at all prepared for was when she used her finger to wipe away some of the cum that had landed on her stomach and then she sucked her finger clean. I thought for sure my head was going to explode. I sat there looking at her, completely stunned.

"What? I was curious," she shrugged but offered no further explanation as to why she had done what she'd done.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

Eric sat there looking like I'd just whacked him over the head with a 2x4. I reached over to my nightstand and grabbed a tissue to wipe myself off with. I'd done exactly what I wanted to do and judging by the way he was all starry eyed and not really speaking, I was guessing I'd either done my job really well, or it was the worst thing ever.

"Okay, you need to say something before I develop a complex," I told him after tossing the used tissue into the trash.

"Sookie, anytime you want to do that again, feel free," he grinned at me and I blushed.

"Really?" I asked and he looked down toward his lap.

"Yes, really," his voice was a little lower than usual and my breath caught because of it.

But then his fingers started to play with the elastic on my yoga pants and my heart leapt up into my throat. The questioning look on his face told me he wanted to return the favor I had just done for him. I should have known it would be tit for tat, no pun intended, but the timing was off.

"Hold on a minute," I put my hand on his to stop him and he froze immediately. "It's not that I don't want you to but now isn't a good time."

I hoped he would get what I meant without having to actually say it but judging by the look on his face he clearly wasn't following me. I took a deep breath and blurted out my reason for stopping him. "I have my period," I said in a rush.

It took him a minute to figure out what I'd said since I had spoken so quickly He didn't make a move to withdraw his hand but he said, "Oh, well, then I guess I'll just owe you double next time."

"I should be good by the time I get home on Sunday," I said and his hands settled on my hips.

"Good. Then I have time to prepare," he said I laughed at that.

"Prepare? You better not go practicing on someone else," I poked his chest.

"No, ma'am," he leaned forward and kissed me sweetly.

I wrapped my hand around his semi-hard cock again and started stroking him. He groaned in my mouth and when I pulled back I said, "I think I need more practice."

He didn't argue.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawwwww look at InkedNerd getting his first handjobs *giggles* And don't worry, Sookie <em>will<em> get her payback because InkedNerd is _not_ a selfish SOB**. **But this is the last chapter you get today. I don't care how much you beg. Really. *puts in ear plugs* Thanks for reading!**


	11. Home Sweet Home

Chapter 11: Home Sweet Home

**SPOV**

I turned off the county road that led to my parents' house and smiled when I could see it through the trees that lined the quarter mile long driveway. As much as I bitched about having to leave Eric for the weekend, I was happy to be home. I hadn't been able to come up since the last week of September and I usually made it a point to drive up once a month. Just to make Mom happy I brought her a trunk load of dirty laundry.

Eric had surprised me by getting out of his last class a little early and seeing me off. I ended up getting a late start since kissing him goodbye took much longer than it should have. I hadn't told my parents I was seeing someone yet but I planned to do so while I was home for the weekend. I didn't want to do it over the phone and I knew they were going to have a ton of questions.

They didn't know about Quinn and I was thankful for it. If my brother had found out he probably would have driven down just to beat Quinn's ass, have a piece of pizza and drive back. My brother was nothing if not notoriously overprotective of me, even though it was completely unnecessary. I knew damn well how to defend myself thanks to Jason. We had a slightly volatile relationship growing up. Jason was a bit of a bully and he used his size and strength to his advantage against a sister that was a few years younger.

Thankfully it wasn't like that anymore but I had some not so great memories of Jason when we were kids because of it. I parked the car in the little parking area by the basketball hoop and I was surprised to see Jason's truck parked there. I would have figured he'd already be on his way to the bar to get liquored up and find himself a new playmate for the night. Jason wasn't exactly known for long-term relationships.

Dad's car was missing from the garage but since it was just before seven I wasn't too surprised by that. The garage he owned in town didn't close until seven so he was usually home by seven thirty, depending on whether or not he wanted to stay later. It wasn't unheard of for him to be elbow deep in some rebuilding job and refuse to leave until it was finished. He hated leaving things undone and I couldn't even begin to count how many times Mom had sent me over to the garage with a plate for him so he wouldn't be starving all night while he worked.

I slid out of my car and reached into the backseat to retrieve my overnight bag. I grabbed my purse and didn't bother to lock the car doors. The little town I lived in was about as safe as you could get and Dad took home security pretty seriously. Our house was out of the way and plopped on a couple hundred acres of land in a woodsy area that the county had been trying to buy from us so they could turn it into a fucking golf course.

Since the land was technically still in Gran's name, all they ever got was a big hell no out of her. The house wasn't anything too spectacular. It had been built back in the late 1940s around the time my Granddaddy and Gran got engaged. The land was actually what was left of a resort that had once been run on the property that had belonged to my great grandfather on my Gran's side. Small cabins had been built around a little lake about a mile away from where the house now stood.

A brush fire got out of control and burned down all the little cabins, forcing them to close the business. By then my great grandfather was getting too old to run the business anyway and so it was somewhat of a blessing in disguise. The insurance money went toward building the house for Gran and Granddaddy. My great grandfather had lived with them until he passed away three years after they were married. Six months later Aunt Linda was born and three years after that Dad followed.

So I was the fourth generation of the Hale line to live in the house and the third generation of Stackhouses. I had no idea what my parents were going to do with the house when they passed away but I didn't really want to think about it just yet. It was way too early to think about either of my parents dying. They were just about to turn fifty and that was scary enough, even though fifty isn't really that old.

I walked in through the garage and Jason was vegged out on the couch in the rec room. A fire was blazing to the left of the TV and I was so tempted to jump over the back of the enormous U-shaped couch and take a nap. I always forgot how damn comfortable that couch was. The cold air got Jason's attention and his head whipped around.

"Shut the door, will ya?" he spoke as if I'd just seen him last week instead of a couple of months ago.

"Shut it yourself," I stuck my tongue out at him and left the door wide open just because I could.

"Nice to see you too, Sook!" Jason shouted from behind me as I climbed the steps up to the kitchen.

The house was screaming for a makeover. It was a split level ranch and probably pretty fancy when it was first built. The exterior of the house was covered in butter yellow aluminum siding. Inside I could very easily recall the shad carpeting that had been all over the first floor when I was little. The wallpaper in the kitchen hadn't been changed out yet and was still some seventies style country cottage print that made me want to gag. The cabinets had this strange, uneven plastic in the windows that sort of reminded me of stucco. It was also this weird brownish-green color.

The shag carpet had been pulled up when I was going into junior high and was replaced by some really awful carpet that was a rusty red/burnt pumpkin sort of color. A new stove was parked in place of the one that had practically exploded two Thanksgivings ago while the turkey was in the oven. It was a total disaster. It was the first time ever we didn't have turkey for dinner on Thanksgiving. Dad ended up grilling burgers instead. Go figure.

"Mom!" I called out when I got to the living room—which had wood paneling on the walls, thank you very much- and she wasn't there.

"Up here!" Mom hollered back and I went toward the short flight of stairs that led up to where my parents' bedroom, bathroom and the room Gran stayed in when she spent the night were located.

The carpet was an oceanic shade of blue with teal accents in it. The wood paneling was God awful but there were more important things for my parents to spend their money on than renovating the house. I found Mom in her bedroom putting clean laundry away. Their bedroom as big enough that they had a couch in there as well as a mini-fridge. If they didn't want to leave the room they didn't have to since their walk-in closet was the link to their bathroom on the other side of the hall.

"Glad you're here. There's a plate in the fridge for you if you're hungry," Mom said without coming out of her closet.

"I stopped at Chick-Fil-A on my way in," I said and smacked my lips. "I'm telling you, you don't realize how much you love the chicken biscuits until you can't have one anytime you want."

"Well, make sure you get some nuggets to take with you on your way home," Mom advised and I made a mental note of that. They would reheat pretty nicely in the oven and Eric had to try them.

I had spent the last two years trying to crack the breading recipe so I could make it at home but so far I'd been unsuccessful. One of these days I was going to figure it out; I was dedicated to the cause. I moved to help Mom with the last of her laundry and he paused to give me a hug.

"How was the drive up?" Mom asked while she rearranged some of the hanging stuff.

My parents were organized and obsessive-compulsive enough that they hung their clothes according to the color spectrum. No, I'm not kidding. I don't know which one of them started it but it was one of their quirks that I found entertaining. My parents had plenty of quirks between the two of them, some more annoying than they were comical. Mom, for instance, freaked out whenever someone put the forks in the dishwasher tines' side up. Dad had a habit of straightening the napkins in the holder on the breakfast bar that divided the functional part of the kitchen from the eating area. Sometimes I would make sure one was out of place just so he would have something to straighten later.

"It was pretty good. I got here later than I planned but traffic wasn't as bad as it could have been for a Friday," I shrugged. Really, once I got past the northwest suburbs traffic wasn't bad at all. Since I took I-90 up instead of 94 I didn't have to deal with Milwaukee traffic and I had left early enough that I was past Madison by the time rush hour started.

"So let me see the new tattoo," Mom said once she put away the last pair of socks.

I turned and lifted my sweater so she could see the words inked onto my ribcage. She lifted her glasses to look through the bifocals and then looked up at me. She exhaled loudly, which was about as close to sighing as Mom ever got.

"You hate it, don't you?" I lowered my sweater.

"I just don't understand why you have to keep putting all that stuff all over your body, but it's your body and you're a big girl. I just hope you don't regret it in sixty years," Mom picked up the laundry basket and put it back in the closet where it belonged.

"Well I won't know until I get there, now will I?" I followed her out of the bedroom. "Speaking of regrets, what's Jason doing here?"

"He's still here?" Mom was surprised by this. Obviously she hadn't been to the other side of the house in a while.

"Yeah, he's parked on the rec room couch like he's lord of the manor," I went to the fridge and checked to see what Mom had made for supper. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans—does it get anymore down-home than that?

"Cut him some slack he had a rough week," Mom told me while taking my plate from me to zap it in the microwave.

Jason was a bit of a drama queen so it was hard to say whether or not it was really a rough week or if he was just looking to be babied by our mother. Whenever Jason decided life as a grownup was too complicated he always ended up crashing in his old bedroom for a few days, letting Mom make all his meals and do his laundry. Why she allowed this, I have no idea. I suspected, however, it had something to do with me moving out of state. Empty nest syndrome was a bitch.

Mom sat down at the kitchen table with me while I ate and I was just about to dig in when Dad pulled into the garage. I was tempted to wait for him but there was no way my dinner could withstand another round in the microwave so it was either eat it now, or not at all. Mom definitely wasn't that good of a cook and I think that was part of the reason I ended up in culinary school. I wanted to learn the right way to cook something. Mom was all about extremes when it came to food. By that I mean it was either raw, burnt to a crisp, bland as cardboard or spicy as a motherfucker. There were no happy mediums with her.

To wit, the meatloaf was dry, the mashed potatoes were crunchy and the green beans were soggy and over-salted. My poor mother. Thankfully Gran was usually in charge for Thanksgiving dinner or it would be completely inedible. All the same, I couldn't ever bring myself to tell Mom how awful her cooking was so I choked down what I could just to make her happy.

Dad walked in while I was forcing down a mouthful of mashed potatoes and I was more than happy to drop my fork and go give him a great big bear hug. "Well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Dad hugged me tightly.

"I know, I know, I was supposed to come home last weekend. I'm sorry I couldn't make it," I apologized when really; I wasn't the least bit sorry. I didn't regret a single second of the previous weekend.

"How was the drive?" Dad asked and I recounted the same information for him as I did for Mom. "When's the last time you got an oil change?"

I rolled my eyes. Once Dad knew I was just fine he would always ask about his other baby. I couldn't really blame him for it—the car was amazing.

"Don't worry, Daddio, I'm taking good care of her for you," I promised him. "I'm due for another oil change when I get back."

"I'll do it tomorrow myself," his eyes lit up at the prospect of getting some one on one time with his number one girl.

"I swear, if your father could marry a car…" Mom trailed off and I laughed until I remembered I had a plate of food that even a hospital cafeteria wouldn't serve that was waiting to be eaten.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I spent my weekend mostly locked away in my apartment working on a paper for one of my classes. It was a pretty important paper and I figured I might as well do what I could while Sookie was gone. She had promised to call me when she was getting close to the city so I could meet her over at her place and spend the night there. I'd fallen asleep on her couch before but we had yet to intentionally spend the night together.

I meant what I said about owing her for the handjobs she had given me the day before she left. I was starry-eyed and walking on air for the rest of the night after that. She would look at me and giggle because of the dopy expression on my face but I couldn't get rid of it. I tried not to think about it too much or I'd get zoned out on replaying the whole encounter in my head and then I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else.

Walking around in a constant state of arousal wasn't a good idea but it was difficult not to. Thankfully I didn't think there was anything all that sexy about _Crime and Punishment_, so I tried to focus on that as much as possible while I worked on my paper. I was about to call it a night on Saturday when my phone rang on my bed beside me.

Sookie's picture flashed on the screen and I grinned as I picked up the phone to answer her call. "Hello, lover," I practically purred at her and she giggled in response.

"Hello yourself. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nope, I was just about to pack it in for the night," I saved my work and closed my laptop. "How are things at the homestead?"

"Okay, I guess. I told my parents about you," Sookie confessed.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep. Dad wants to meet you."

"Should I be worried?"

"Not about Dad. Mom's a tougher customer than he is," she warned but that wasn't a surprise. "She means well, though."

"It's okay. It's good that she's protective of you," I grabbed my notes off the bed and set them on my desk.

"Oh good, then you'll really love my brother," she said and I could pretty much hear her eyes rolling.

"I have two younger sisters, remember? And my father is a retired Marine. I'm familiar with the overprotective male family member bit."

"Good point," Sookie laughed and I felt a little ache in my chest. I wanted her back with me. "I miss you."

"Yeah, I miss you too," I stretched out on my bed. "You really need to sleep over one of these days. Maybe next Saturday. You can sleep a little later since you'll be closer to Goblins," I reminded her.

"That sounds like an excellent idea."

I thought so.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" I asked.

"Church, then brunch and then I'll be heading back. I'm hoping to be on the road by one, so if traffic isn't bad I should be back by six, seven at the latest. Are you still coming over tomorrow?"

"Hell yes," I was an eager bastard and she damn well knew it.

"Good. Will you cook for me?" she asked and that had become code for getting takeout since it was the only thing I was good at.

"Of course. What do you want?"

"You," she said in a completely serious tone. "But I'll settle for tacos. And _not_ Taco Bell either."

"Well you can have both," I promised her. I knew a great Mexican place a couple of blocks from my apartment. It was important to know these kinds of things when you don't do much cooking. Sookie didn't say anything for a moment and I was worried the call got dropped. "Still with me?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I was just thinking dirty thoughts about you," she informed me.

"Oh really? Anything you'd care to share with the rest of the class?"

She grunted and said, "I would love to but my brother just walked into the room."

That jerk.

"Well then maybe I should just tell you the dirty thoughts I've been having," I suggested and the little moan Sookie tried to stifle went straight to my cock.

I swear it didn't take much for me to end up pitching a tent and Sookie was responsible for about 99% of it. Okay, maybe all of it. The point is my cock had been through more false starts in the last month than you would see at the Special Olympics.

"How about you text it to me instead?" she suggested and the idea of her being able to respond was enough to convince me it was the best idea she'd had all day.

"I think that's an excellent idea."

"Then I'll get off the phone. I'll talk to you soon."

"Yes, yes you will," I smiled while I organized what I wanted to say and got off the phone.

Where to begin…

* * *

><p><strong>Hopefully no one was offended by that Special Olympics analogy there, but it's what Eric said in my head so there it is. Also, Sookie's Mom is sooooo my aunt. I love her to death. She's one of the smartest, most opinionated people I've ever met. She says exactly what she thinks and all of her opinions are well thought out and she has the knowledge to back up her thoughts so it's not like it's off-the-cuff judgment, and we'll see as time goes by that Sookie's mom is very much the same way. She says what she thinks and doesn't apologize for her sometimes rather harsh opinions or judgments. Our lovers will be back together again next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing my dears!<strong>

**Oh! And if anyone is interested in it, Storiesforevy totally rocked out a super kick ass banner for the chapter of Friday Night Blues that I wrote, so if you want to see it take a look on my profile and you'll find it toward the bottom. One last thing, and I swear I'm done! I wrote a short little one shot that is posted exclusively on my livejournal, so if you'd like to read it you can find it by going to my profile and clicking on my homepage link at the top, and it will take you to my journal. Just scroll down and look for the entry titled "Fanfiction: Tomorrow" or check the tag list on the lefthand sidebar. The Golden Rule is also posted there if you haven't read it yet and would like to. Happy reading!  
><strong>


	12. Just a Little Crush

Chapter 12: Just a Little Crush

**EPOV**

I was out the door the second Sookie said she was less than a half hour away from the city. It didn't take me long to get there and she had called her cousin to let her know I was on my way so she wouldn't freak out if she saw me in the yard. I'd met Claudine but I wasn't really sure what to make of her. I recognized her from magazines and it was hard to believe she was related to Sookie. They weren't closely related, but shared some genetic material. Damned if I would know it just by looking at them, though.

Claudine waved to me from the front window when I let myself in the gate and I waved back since it was only polite. I walked around the side of the brownstone and saw that the garage door was open. Sookie was back. I jogged toward the coach house and found that door open as well. I closed it behind me and heard Sookie moving around in her bedroom.

I slipped off my shoes and crept through the house as quietly as I could. When I got to her bedroom, she had her back to me while she hung up clean clothes. I waited until she had the last hanger up on the rod and then I pounced. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her back to my chest. The familiar smells of cinnamon and coffee filled me. My Sookie was back.

"Welcome home," I whispered in her ear and then kissed her neck in a spot I had discovered the day before she left that seemed to make her get a little weak in the knees.

"Hi," she said in a breathy voice.

What I really wanted to do was throw her down on her bed and bury myself inside her but we hadn't worked up to that yet. One of these days it was going to happen.

"How was the trip back?" I asked as I pulled her toward her bed.

"Pretty good, all things considered."

I sat down and turned Sookie so she was facing me. She was dressed casually in a pair of jeans that hugged her hips just right and when I slid my hands underneath the hooded sweatshirt she was wearing I realized there wasn't another layer underneath it. God bless easier access. I wanted that sweatshirt gone. Yesterday.

"I totally intend on kissing you silly, but I need to get the rest of my laundry out of the car," Sookie leaned down and kissed me, which was a big mistake because I had no intention of letting her go.

I pulled her down on top of me and let my hand slide down the back of her jeans. She squirmed against me, crushing her breasts to my chest. Seriously, that sweatshirt needed to be gone already. Her tongue warred with mine and I was just about to flip us over when Sookie pulled back.

"Wait right there," she said as she climbed off my lap. I pouted at her and she said, "I'll be right back."

I flopped back on her bed and as if I couldn't feel it already, I could see the hard-on I had in my peripheral vision. I closed my eyes and the images of all the things I wanted to do to her came flooding back to me a thousand fold. She was in big trouble. I really hoped she didn't have plans for the rest of the night.

Sookie came back inside and I heard the slam of the door, followed by the clunking of the deadbolt when she turned it over. She walked into her bedroom carrying a laundry basket full of folded jeans and what appeared to be socks and underwear. Oh good, things that didn't wrinkle.

True to her word she came right back to me and pounced. She slid herself on top of me, sitting in the exact right spot to make my eyes roll back a little. I took a deep breath to try and get a little control of myself and when my eyes opened again, Sookie's sweatshirt was gone. If I wasn't a believer in a higher power before, I would have been in that moment.

"Looks like all of you missed me," Sookie grabbed my hands and laced her fingers with mine.

"You have no idea," I looked up into her eyes. I'd greet the girls later.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I do," she rotated her hips. "By that third text message you sent me last night I had to leave the room."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded and said, "You have no idea how wet that made me."

I growled at her and started to wonder if she was trying to kill me. Sometimes I wondered. I thought back to what I had said to her in texts the night before and tried to remember exactly what it was that really got her going. Oh, yes…I remembered. It was a fairly graphic thought that involved her being naked on her kitchen table.

"You have a very active imagination," she said as her hips rocked.

"You've given me a lot to think about," I let my hands grab her hips. "And you have some pretty specific ideas yourself."

Sookie nodded and I was surprised there was no blushing to accompany it. Then again, it was easier to say the things we wanted to say in text messages. Having that little bit of a barrier between us made it easier to be open and a little more creative. It was also a relief to know we could be completely honest with one another. We didn't have to hold anything back because we were on the same page and I liked that Sookie felt comfortable enough with me to tell me what she was thinking, even when she wasn't sure of how it would be received. She trusted me and that was crucial.

Sookie planted a line of kisses along my jaw and when she got to my mouth she looked me in my eyes and asked, "Where are my tacos? I'm starving."

Shit. I completely forgot about the damn tacos. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling like an ass for forgetting them. I was so focused on the idea of seeing her again that the tacos completely slipped my mind.

"I forgot," I admitted and Sookie clucked her tongue at me.

"That's a shame," she slid off of me.

"Where are you going?" I asked while she pulled on her sweatshirt. "No, no, don't do that."

"I'm hungry," she shrugged and walked out of the room.

Was she serious? I could call and have a pizza at the house in less than an hour. I jumped off the bed and followed her into the kitchen. Sookie was looking in her fridge and I pulled her away from it.

"Stop," I closed the doors to the appliance. "I'm sorry I forgot the tacos. I was all zoned out on you, if that's any consolation. You have a way of making me think about one thing and one thing only."

"That's very sweet but it doesn't fill my hungry tummy," Sookie moved to her pantry. I heard her mumble something about 'topless' and 'tacos' and I immediately hated myself.

We ended up walking a couple of blocks to Sammy's Red Hots instead. We could have had it delivered but it seemed like a waste of money, not to mention Sookie wanted to get out and stretch her legs after being in the car for so long. She ordered a cheese dog. I got a combo Italian sausage/beef sandwich and we split an order of fries. Before we left we got a jumbo strawberry shake to share on the way home.

By the time we got back to Sookie's place she was a little on the chilly side, thanks to the wind gusts coming off the lake, and I was more than happy to figure out a way to warm her up. I discovered Sookie had quite a collection of campy horror flicks to choose from and she owned them mostly because she considered them to be comedies instead of horror films. I couldn't really fault her logic there. I mean, a psycho killer is coming after you with a machete and instead of running out the front door you run up the stairs? Really? You deserve to die.

"How about _Planet Terror_?" Sookie suggested and pulled the case from the shelf it belonged on.

"I haven't seen it," I took the case from her.

"Oh we are _so_ watching this! Rose McGowan with a machine gun leg is fucking hot," Sookie said, and I raised an eyebrow at her. "What? She looks hot."

"Any other girls you find hot?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.

"A few," she shrugged and my other eyebrow joined the first.

She rolled her eyes and said, "They're harmless little girl crushes. They don't mean anything."

"So who else is on your list?" I asked out of sheer curiosity since there wasn't a single guy I had a crush on.

Her lips pursed and her eyebrow quirked in thought while she loaded the DVD into the player. I went to sit on the sofa and when she sat down next to me she said, "Kate Winslet and Tina Fey are the big ones."

"Interesting. So how does that work, exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you like, bi-sexual or something?"

Sookie laughed and said, "No, I'm not bi-sexual. I just happen to think they're beautiful, talented women and I admire them."

"So they're like, heroes?"

"Not exactly," Sookie shifted on the couch so she was sort of curled up and facing me. "I guess what I mean is that if I _was_ into women, those were the ones I'd go after. Does that make sense?"

"I guess. I guess it just seemed strange since I don't really think there are any guys I would go gay for," I said and Sookie threw her head back and laughed.

"That's the double standard at work," she leaned into me and pushed the play button on the remote. "Eric, its fine if it creeps you out a little."

"No, it doesn't creep me out. I guess I just never gave it much thought. Besides, we don't really like sharing, do we?" I put my arm around her.

"No, we don't. But I will warn you that if Tina Fey ever makes a move on me, you're history," she teased and got herself mercilessly tickled for it.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

Poor Eric; I thought his head was going to explode. I never really thought the concept of a girl crush was that difficult to wrap one's head around but Eric seemed to be having a difficult time grasping it. Oh well. As long as he knew it was no big deal, that's all I cared about. By the end of the movie he understood what I meant about Rose McGowan looking hot with that machine gun leg and after much pestering, I learned who _his_ celebrity crushes were. He already knew about my thing for Johnny Depp, so it was only fair that I asked who he was in to.

"You're going to laugh," he said and looked almost hesitant to tell me.

"Is it that bad?" I probably sounded a little too excited. "It's not like, Kathy Bates or Paula Deen, is it?"

Eric looked at me like I had two heads and I burst out laughing. "No, but now I have great images in my head for when I need to will away a hard-on."

"Okay, so what? What's the big deal?" I wiggled my feet, which were in his lap.

Eric took a big, deep breath and said, "The big one is Sarah Michelle Gellar."

"Oooh, she's pretty. I can understand why you'd be into her. I love her eyes," I nodded appreciatively but I could tell there was something Eric was trying to hold back. "What's so weird about Sarah?"

"I discovered her on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_," he confessed and my face lit up.

"_You watched Buffy?_" This was officially the best day of my life!

"Uh, yeah, there were hot girls all over the place on that show," Eric said as if I should already know that, and I did, but I still thought it was hilarious. "I knew you were going to laugh."

I stopped immediately, sensing I'd hurt his feelings. I shifted myself and climbed into his lap. "No, Eric, I'm sorry! I swear I wasn't laughing at you! I just… you caught me off guard, that's all. I never would have pegged you for a Buffy fan, that's all."

He had a serious pout going on and I leaned in to kiss him softly. I really didn't mean to make fun of him and hurt his feelings. I also never would have pegged him as the super sensitive type, but apparently he was a little more fragile than I originally thought.

"Anyone else?" I asked and told myself no matter what he said, I wasn't going to laugh. He looked at me with judgment in his eyes and I said, "I promise I won't be a jerk."

"Zoe Deschanel," he said and I had to think about that one for a second.

"I don't think I know who that is," I tilted my head. The name sounded familiar but I couldn't place her.

"She was the older sister in _Almost Famous_," he reminded me and my face lit up again.

"Yes! Okay, I remember her. Wow, that's a pretty big difference from Sarah Michelle Gellar."

Eric shrugged and said, "I like what I like."

Personally I was just glad there weren't any redheads on the list. Once things cooled down a little bit I climbed off his lap and got up to put the movie back in its case. It was getting late and I knew we both had to be up relatively early in the morning. While I had my back to him I said, "Can I ask you one more question and then we'll drop all this?"

"Sure," he said.

"So, like, were you Team Buffy or Team Faith?" I held back my smile when I looked over my shoulder.

"You are so going to pay for that," Eric warned and then launched himself off the couch and I made a run for it.

* * *

><p><strong>Ummm yeah... she's back. Oh look! It's a horny InkedNerd chasing her! *runs away to avoid all the tomatoes and pitch forks* <strong>


	13. Manic Monday

Chapter 13: Manic Monday

**SPOV**

I was nicely snuggled into my bed with my human blanket wrapped around me. I could feel his breath on my neck and a glance at the alarm clock next to my bed told me it was still way too early to be awake. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep but that didn't seem to be happening. Eric and I had finally gone to bed at just around midnight.

Well, okay, we'd gone to bed but we didn't go to sleep. We spent about a half hour kissing goodnight before finally giving in and letting ourselves pass out. I liked sleeping next to him. He was a very cuddly sleeper and the only guy I had ever shared a bed with. Even though I had no basis for comparison, I was willing to bet he was a world class spooner.

I was so tempted to get up and start the coffee maker but it was too early. It wasn't even five yet. What the hell was wrong with me? I managed to wiggle out of Eric's hold and went across the hall to the bathroom. I peed and brushed my teeth since I didn't know what else to do. I thought about going to the couch and turning on the news but I didn't want to do that either so I went back to bed.

Eric had rolled onto his back and when I slipped into bed beside him I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes again. My right hip was numb from laying on it for so long and it was starting to tingle as feeling came back to it. Eric was stretched out in nothing but his boxers and I was only wearing a giant old t-shirt that had actually belonged to my father once upon a time. It was an old Springsteen t-shirt he got at a concert before either my brother or I was even born.

I fell into that weightless in between stage where I wasn't awake but I wasn't quite asleep either. I felt Eric shift beside me and then his hand moving up under my t-shirt. I smiled against his chest when his hand slid over my breast, cupping it gently while he kissed my forehead.

"Are you awake?" he whispered.

"No," I whispered back and his chest shook with silent laughter.

He rolled me onto my back and landed on top of me. Hello, morning wood, nice to see you today. He kissed my neck while gathering up my t-shirt. I sat up a little so he could pull it off and when my eyes opened, he was staring down at me like a starving man staring at a T-bone.

"If memory serves, I owe you for the other day," he whispered in my ear while his hand moved down my side.

"I vaguely recall something like that," I gasped when his fingers reached my panties and traced the side of them, following the curve in from my hip.

"Do you want to collect on that promise?" he brushed a kiss on my lips.

Did I? It would be a hell of a way to start the morning, that's for sure. I nodded and I felt Eric smile against my lips.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he kissed me a little more firmly than before and when his tongue traced the seam of my lips, I parted them for him.

His kisses were deep and passionate and he spent some time on my neck and collarbone before moving down to my breasts. He was doing a great job of preheating the oven. I could still feel his fingers on my panties but he hadn't breached them yet. He was taking his time and I was content to let him go at his own pace. Hell, I didn't even care if I ended up being late for class; it would totally be worth it.

When the alarm started buzzing I switched it off. Eric looked up at me with questioning eyes and I said, "I don't have to leave until nine."

He merely grinned and dipped his head down again. He was working his way down my stomach and I felt the muscles there clench when it dawned on me that maybe he was planning on using more than just his fingers on me. We were good to go since Aunt Flo had left town but that didn't change the fact that I was nervous about it.

"Do you want me to stop?" Eric asked when he got to the line of my panties.

"No," I could barely get the word out. I was shaking.

"Sookie, relax. If you change your mind, all you have to do is tell me to stop and I will," he looked up at me with reassurance in his eyes.

It was strange to feel someone's breath on the inside of my thigh. I wanted to look at Eric but it was too much. I was already on overload and I hadn't had my coffee yet. The kisses he placed on my thighs were so delicate I might not have felt them if it wasn't for the moist heat of his breath. When he tugged on the sides of my panties I lifted my hips to help him get them off. He slid them down so slowly and it was driving me crazy since I was more likely to get it over with in one fell swoop. But I wasn't going to tell him to hurry up.

I knew it was mostly my nerves talking and when I looked back on things, I would be grateful he'd taken his time. Being eager was good to a certain point and I knew that if he went any quicker than he was going, it would have spooked me more than I already was. I wasn't afraid of him—it was just a big step to take. I had never let anyone near that part of my body before that wasn't licensed to practice medicine, or female. This was a huge deal for me and I knew Eric understood that.

With my panties discarded, I was officially naked in front of him and his eyes felt like hot coal raking over my body as he looked at me. It felt like every single flaw I had was being magnified tenfold and the urge to cover myself up was pretty powerful, but I forced my hands to stay on the comforter. I didn't trust them to go anywhere else for the moment. As Eric's eyes swept over me I reminded myself that he probably felt just as awkward a few days prior. The feeling would go away in time.

"You're gorgeous, Sookie," Eric kissed my stomach and I tried to smile at him but I was having a hard time staying relaxed.

Almost as if he knew that he moved up my body and covered my mouth with his. His kisses were reassuring and so sweet. His morning wood nudged against my lady business and I moaned as a result. Slowly he worked his way back down again, mumbling little compliments and telling me the things he liked about me as he went. I started to relax and when he got back down between my legs, I didn't feel the same anxiety I did before.

"Sookie, will you look at me?" he asked in a gentle voice and I was glad he did because if he had ordered me to I probably would have panicked again.

My eyes drifted down to his and I watched as he finally kissed a part of me no one else had ever kissed, let alone seen, before. I was glad it was him. I wasn't sure anyone else would have been as patient, or willing to wait for me as Eric was. He took his time and didn't just dive right in the way I suspected a lot of guys probably would have. It was obvious to me that he cared about whether or not I was getting something out of the encounter, just as I had cared about doing things to please him those few days prior.

He gently push my thighs a little farther apart and then used his thumbs to spread me open. My eyes closed again, unable to look at him in that moment. It was too much. I was completely on display for him and while I didn't want to stop, there was a part of me that needed a little bit of a buffer in that moment. My eyes popped open again, however, when I felt something warm and wet on that secret skin of mine and I looked down to see Eric's tongue on me.

He was looking up at me with an expression I couldn't quite decipher in his eyes. He repeated the long, slow licks several times before finally kissing my clit, which made me shiver. His tongue began to move over it in all sorts of ways, some more pleasant than others, and I could tell he was paying close attention to which ways I liked best. When his tongue swerved in a back and forth sort of motion my hand ended up in his hair and he growled.

The vibration was a lovely bonus to what I was already feeling and it left me trembling a little. Eric repeated that swerving motion and then I felt one of his fingers at my entrance. I braced myself for another layer of pleasure to be added to the mix and he teased for a moment, letting his finger get coated in my juices before slowly pushing inside me. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and his other hand moved up to cover one of my breasts.

I felt like I was going to explode.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I can fully admit I had no idea what I was doing. I'd done a little reading and maybe watched a video or two just to see what the process was supposed to be but how much could I really trust porn? I mean, at the end of the day they're acting to some extent. Who knew if those moans were real or not?

But I figured I had to go in with some sort of a plan. Girls liked confidence and constantly asking for reassurance was a turn-off, no matter what the situation was. So I did what felt natural and tried the alphabet trick I'd read about. Oddly enough, it was the letter S that got Sookie going the most and I wasn't stupid enough to keep pushing my luck.

She had a pretty good grip on my hair but I didn't mind. It was beyond sexy of her to grab a hold of me like that. She wasn't forcing my head down, or anything, but the little tugs and gentle adjustments she made to get me right where she wanted me were all good things to know for the future. I wanted her to enjoy it as much as I did. I didn't think it was possible for her to taste so sweet everywhere, but she did.

I remembered the movie _American Pie_ comparing fingering a girl to fingering a warm apple pie and it became obvious to me those guys had no idea what they were talking about. Sookie was way better than any apple pie I'd ever had in my life, I'll tell you that. Yes, she was warm and wet but it wasn't anything like a pastry.

I worked my finger into her slowly, not wanting to hurt her in any way, shape or form. I twisted my finger a little bit and her hips rolled as a response. I laid off her clit for a moment and just watched my finger move in and out of her. I considered adding another since that seemed to be the standard but figured it was too soon for that. She was too tight and I have big fingers.

So instead my other hand reached up to roll and pinch one of her nipples. She gasped and bit her bottom lip. Her hips were rising and falling with the slow movement of my fingers and she just kept getting wetter and wetter. Figuring I would try something different, I sucked her clit into my mouth and flicked my tongue against it a little faster than before.

She cried out and pulled my hair in sexy as fuck way that let me know she was enjoying what I was doing. My heart was beating in my ears and I felt an ache in my groin from being so hard for so long without any friction of my own to easy the tension. But that didn't matter since this was about her. I'd gotten mine a few days ago. It was her turn.

"Eric, I…" she couldn't even get the words out but I was pretty sure I knew what she was going to say. "So… so close…"

Yep, I thought so. I wanted to gloat but that would come after she did. I kept doing what I was doing since it seemed to be working and I had to hold her down when her hips started to move a little too much. A steady chant of "oh God" left her mouth, filling my ears and goading me on to finish her off. The fluttering of her muscles around my finger became more intense and less sporadic, and I knew she'd finally orgasmed when she screamed my name and those muscles clenched around my finger.

Holy fuck, that was amazing. The look on her face was one I would never forget; it was seared into my memory for the rest of my life. Her body shook and at some point her other hand had ended up in my hair as well. I hadn't even noticed it until I went to lift my head. Her eyes were closed and there was a blissed out smile on her face. Hell yes. Mission accomplished.

I carefully pulled my finger out of her and when I licked her again she shook a little bit and moaned loudly. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled right at me. "Thank you," she said in a shaky voice.

"Anytime," I kissed her clit and she shivered again.

"Come here," she curled a finger at me and I made my way up her body. "I don't know what you were doing in the beginning, but it felt amazing."

"The alphabet," I confessed with a laugh and she laughed along with me.

"Seriously?" her eyes were wide with surprise and I nodded. "I never would have guessed."

I lifted the finger that had been inside her and sucked it clean. She bit her bottom lip and when I removed my finger from my mouth she grabbed my face and pulled me into a deep, almost sloppily passionate kiss. With our bodies pressed together like they were, I knew she could feel how hard I was.

"Let me take care of you?" she asked with slightly pleading eyes and I was powerless to say no.

"I still owe you one," I reminded her.

"Later," she whispered against my lips and kissed me again while her hand slid into my boxers and started stroking me.

I lifted her leg up on top of mine and since we were lying face to face, I had access to all the essential parts. My hand moved between her legs and my fingers concentrated on her clit. Sookie moaned in my mouth when I touched her, and while she continued to stroke me, I rubbed her clit. It didn't take long for either of us to come, and it was the first time we'd come together.

"Holy shit," I cursed under my breath while Sookie tried to figure out how to get her sticky hand out of my boxers without making a huge mess, but I had a change of clothes with me so it was no big deal. "Thank you," I whispered to her. I really needed that release.

"I need coffee," Sookie said after a few minutes of collecting ourselves.

"I need a shower," I countered.

"How about you go start the water, I'll start the coffee and meet you in there?" Sookie suggested and I grinned.

"You want to shower together?"

"Why not? We both need to, right?"

We did but I wasn't convinced it would be much of a time saver. It was almost seven o'clock by that point and I would gladly spend the rest of the day in bed with her if I could. Actually, that sounded like the ideal way to spend the day but we both had classes and Sookie was working later on.

"Spend the night at my place tonight," I said before she got out of bed.

"I'll think about it," she promised and kissed me softly before getting out of bed and slipping on her robe.

I stayed there on my back for a moment while she went about getting her coffee together. Then I remembered her idea of showering together, and I couldn't get to the bathroom fast enough. Yet another first. So far Monday was shaping up to be a good day.

* * *

><p><strong>Odd... I smell cigarette smoke <em>and<em> marshmallows at the same time... huh. Well, at least Sookie finally got her payback, and they experienced a few new things together. There wasn't much in the way of plot advancement here, but I think you'll forgive me for it. Oh, and just in case you haven't seen it yet, I co-wrote a story with Scribeninja called "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" that I started posting last night under my penname. It's a story entirely from Sookie's POV and since we finished writing the story, I'll be posting a new chapter everyday until it's finished. Check it out if you haven't taken a look yet. It'll get you the lemony fix you're missing from this one, although now that the InkedNerds are picking up steam, you'll be getting a shot of citrus here too. Thanks for reading!**


	14. Sweet Spot

Chapter 14: Sweet Spot

**EPOV  
><strong>  
>Don't get me wrong, the handjobs I'd gotten from Sookie were pretty awesome. I had most definitely enjoyed myself but her hot little mouth on me was even better. I was one lucky fucker. I didn't mind being her guinea pig one bit.<p>

Just as it was before, Sookie asked me to show her what to do but since it was a first for me I couldn't really tell her what I liked. We were just going to have to experiment and see what worked and what didn't. She seemed to be holding back at first, closely observing me to make sure she was on the right track but the second her tongue touched my cock I was in serious danger of losing all sense of control.

Why did my body have to be so hardwired to blow up at a moment's notice? How was it that it didn't seem like Sookie was having the same issues? I wondered if that was a fundamental difference between the sexes or if I just wasn't turning her on as much as she was me. I really needed to talk to another girl about this issue.

I really needed more female friends. It was times like those when it would have been great if Stan had a girlfriend but that would mean doing something other than going to class and playing video games. That wasn't likely to happen. Besides, the last thing I needed was for my questions to get back to Sookie.

I was sprawled out on the middle of her bed, as naked before her as she had been before me for just about the last half hour. If I'd thought I was in deep shit before, I knew I was a total lost cause after seeing her naked. I had no idea how I was ever going to be able to concentrate or focus on anything else ever again. Every time I closed my eyes all I saw was her beautiful body writhing under me. I heard her breathy moans and it was grounds for instant wood.

Sookie was on her knees beside me and I had quickly ascertained that it was my job to keep her hair out of her eyes and face while she was down there. Her tongue moved from the head down the shaft and then back up again. I had figured out a lot of the actions I took in sexual matters were instinctual. I paid attention to what Sookie seemed to like and I knew she was doing the same for me.

I was aware of the cardinal rule of never forcing a girl's head down without her permission beforehand, but it was hard not to do it. I told myself to be patient that it would be more than worth it in the end. Sookie looked up into my eyes for reassurance as she took me deeper in her mouth. The heat and wetness on top of the suction and caresses of her tongue and hand...fuck me, what had I been waiting for?

Sookie dipped her head down as far as she could and it was just barely half of my cock she was able to get in there without gagging. I didn't want to choke her. I didn't think that was sexy. I figured Sookie wouldn't find it very sexy either. She used her hand on what she couldn't fit in her mouth and as hard as I tried to hold on I didn't last long.

"Fuck, Sookie, I'm gonna come," I warned her but she didn't pull away.

Instead she started circling her tongue around the head of my erection and resumed jerking me off the way I had shown her before. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, my balls tingled and I could feel the load shooting through me into her. I shouted with my release and when I looked down, Sookie was a bit of a mess.

"You okay, Sookie?" I asked and she nodded, her tongue darting out to lick her chin.

"You taste salty," she informed me with a giggle.

I snorted as that and pulled Sookie up to lie next to me. She snuggled against my chest and I whispered, "I like you naked in my bed like this. It should happen more often."

She smiled against my skin and said, "Be a good boy and it will. Although we might need to soundproof this joint if we don't want commentary from Stan every time he walks by."

I was going to fucking kill Stan one of these days. Every time he got near my room he made sure to shout out some sort of sexual instruction. Sookie didn't say so but I could tell it was sort of freaking her out a little. I didn't blame her. I mean, I wouldn't want someone else standing on the other side of the door listening either.

"I'm going to start slipping sleeping pills into his Mountain Dew," I said and Sookie laughed.

"There's got to be a different way of dealing with him than drugging him," she suggested and pulled herself up.

"You know, I don't really want to think about my troll of a roommate right now. You're here, naked and all mine. I can think of way more fun ways to spend our time," I pulled her back down to kiss and she was more than willing to let me roll her underneath me.

In the last couple of days we had spent plenty of time making out and finding ways to make each other orgasm. Every time we got near each other we were all lips and hands. I couldn't get enough of her and given that she was just as into it, I knew she felt the same way. Being with Sookie was easy. We were obviously very attracted to each other, and the chemistry between us was insane, but I really liked hanging out and just talking to her too. We had fun laughing at the same movies, chasing her cousin's dogs around the yard or when she would try to teach me how to cook something.

We had gotten into a couple of little arguments but nothing too serious. It was just enough to get us riled and defensive so that when we called a truce, making up felt phenomenal. Because Sookie and I were honest with each other, sometimes to the point that we hurt the other's feelings, things could get pretty intense between us. We didn't say those things to be mean or out of spite, but simply because it was the truth. Sookie and I had agreed that it was important to know who you are as a person and own that. She was pretty self-aware and it wasn't like we spent our time pointing out each other's flaws or anything like that, but I didn't have to be worried she was going to bottle shit up if she was pissed at me for some reason. I was never going to have to hear the words 'you know what you did' come out of her mouth in place of explaining what was wrong.

We didn't want to play games of an emotional nature with one another and I was glad she didn't get into all the drama and shit a lot of girls did. I didn't think relationships needed to be that complicated. If you were with the right person, a person you could be honest with and trust, then it stood to reason you could work things out. Honesty was a dangerous thing and I had realized that not everyone wanted the truth the way they claimed to. Most people wanted to hear what they wanted to hear and hoped someone else's version of the truth was the same as their own.

"Have you decided when you're leaving for California?" Sookie asked when she rolled off of me again.

Thanksgiving break started the week after next and I knew Sookie was driving up to her family's place on the day before the holiday. She would be driving back on Friday afternoon. We had planned for her to pick me up from the airport on Saturday. The question was when I would leave.

"Stan is leaving the Friday before when he gets out of class, so I'll have the apartment to myself. He gets in on Saturday night. I was thinking I would leave on Tuesday," I told her and she smiled.

"Are you sure you want to wait that long?" She asked just to be sure.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. I'm going home again for Christmas so my parents are cool with it," I told her.

I had a month off from the middle of December to the middle of January. Sookie only had three weeks off but we would still have plenty of time to hang out. She had mentioned the idea of spending New Year's Eve up at her parent's house. I wanted to meet her family and I liked the idea of spending the holiday somewhere other than the city. Sookie had suggested spending time riding four wheelers and playing in the snow, two things I had never done before but was anxious to try.

"What will I do with myself for a whole four days without you?" Sookie asked dramatically, the back of her hand resting on her forehead.

"Phone sex," I shrugged and she smacked my stomach playfully.

"Don't hold your breath," she flopped on her back and pulled the comforter up.

"Just think about how great that Saturday will be when my plane lands," I reached for her hand.

"I'm not going to blow you in the parking lot at the airport," she said in a completely serious tone.

"We'll see," I said and she scoffed.

"Okay now I'm _definitely_ not blowing you in the parking lot," she said with determination but we both knew I had ways of weakening her resolve, just like she knew ways to weaken mine.

"You're very pretty when you pout," I rolled on top of her.

"Stop it," she tried to push me off but I knew her well enough to know she wasn't really mad at me.

"You're even prettier when you come," I whispered in her ear and she gasped. My hand brush against her thigh and she parted them for me.

She was wet and hot. It had never occurred to me that she would get enjoyment from sucking my cock, but if it turned her on I would be more than willing to let her keep doing it. Our lips met and just as my tongue was sliding against hers, I pushed a finger inside her. She moaned into my mouth while I slowly pumped my finger in and out.

I withdrew my index finger and replaced it with my middle finger. With both of them lubed up in her juices, I slowly and carefully added my index finger again. Her muscles clenched and she was panting, her nails digging into my shoulder.

"Okay?" I looked into her eyes and she nodded.

"Tight," she explained as her brows knit together.

"Too much?"

"No," she shook her head.

My fingers moved at a slow and steady pace and I watched her face, looking into her eyes as her hips began to writhe under me. She stretched forward and kissed me. My tongue rubbed against hers in time with the rhythm of my fingers inside her until I had to pull away to breathe.

"Feels so good," she moaned, her back arching a little.

I leaned down and sucked one of her nipples into my mouth. She moaned a little louder and when my thumb found her clit, she cried out. I wanted to tell her to be quiet so Stan didn't hear her but I didn't want to ruin anything for her either. Knowing that she was getting lost in her pleasure was pretty awesome and I didn't want to be a buzz kill.

I kissed her neck and moved my fingers a little faster between her legs. Sookie was so wet by that point her juices were dripping down my hand. I tried to imagine what it would feel like when it was my cock inside her instead and the thought made me painfully hard. Fuck, everything about her made me painfully hard.

"Oh God, don't stop," she whimpered, biting her bottom lip and squeezing her eyes closed.

"Open your eyes, Sookie," I said when I felt her muscles starting to pulse regularly around my fingers. "I want to see you when you come."

She cried out again and when I changed the position of my fingers inside her a little she cried out again, her nails digging deeper into me than before. "Oh fuck, Eric, right there! Right there!"

I tried to find the spot again and when I did her entire body shook. Holy fuck. I concentrated on that spot and if I thought she was wet before, that was nothing. All hopes of keeping her quiet were lost and watching her come undone beneath me was amazing.

Her muscles clenched so hard around my fingers it was almost impossible to move them. My arms started to sting when she loosened her grip and when I looked over I saw four distinct crescent shaped marks. Sookie had drawn a little blood with her scratches but there was something incredibly sexy in knowing she had marked me that way, especially since I was pretty sure she didn't even realize she was doing it. She was breathing hard and her eyes were fluttering open and closed. The smile on her face was radiant and I knew I wanted to see that expression again-many times.

"Thank you," she said when she was able to speak.

I kissed her softly and slowly withdrew my fingers from her. I sucked them clean and then got out of bed to get something to clean her up with. I was definitely going to need to wash my sheets. The gush of her orgasm had left a definite wet spot on my bed. I grinned at the knowledge that I was the reason for it. I had done that to her. Fuck yeah.

So maybe it took Sookie's oven a little longer to preheat but once it did, it became a roaring inferno.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

If it wasn't for Amelia filling me in on the difference between a regular orgasm and one stimulated by the g-spot, I would have thought I peed. The pressure deep in my lower belly had been fantastic and when I had finally exploded it was unlike anything I had ever felt in my life. At the age of nineteen I'd done a little experimenting myself and while I didn't have the first orgasm of my life with Eric, he had definitely brought me to a personal best. I couldn't even move for a minute afterward.

The aftershocks kept coming and my thighs would clench with each one. I felt all tingly and relaxed. It was an amazing feeling and the smug look on Eric's face told me he knew he'd done something pretty great. It was hard to tell who was happier.

I was too blissed out to chastise him for the gloating. Hell, he earned it. Just the thought of my thighs rubbing together was enough to send another aftershock through me and as a result, I lay there for several minutes just trembling. Eric looked at me with concern when I started giggling for no apparent reason when he was done cleaning me up.

"I didn't break you, did I?" He asked with a smirk.

"Maybe," I kept giggling.

"What was that?" He asked me and I reached for his hand since he seemed a bit shaky.

"Ever heard of a g-spot?" I asked and his eyes widened.

"I found it?" A slow, Grinch-like smile of pride spread across his face. It was adorable to watch. When I nodded he did a little fist pump of victory. Dork.

It was while he was still celebrating that I realized I'd scratched his shoulders pretty well and I gasped. I reached up to touch the marks and felt instant guilt when I saw the dried blood on his arms. I had no idea I'd grabbed onto him that hard.

"Oh my God. Eric, I am so sorry," I sat up and looked a little more closely at his scratches.

"Don't worry about it. Every time I see those marks I'm going to remember how unbelievably sexy you looked while I was making you come," he said and the sweet and naughty of what he said struck a chord in me.

I leaned in and kissed him hard, pulling him back on top of me as I sank against the mattress. We were rolling around, kissing and laughing with him tickling me every now and then. I loved how playful he could be sometimes. He was adorable. Of course, Stan had to make his presence known.

"Chicks like their nipples tweaked, but don't try to tune a radio!" he shouted through the door.

"Fuck off!" Eric shouted and resumed kissing me, even while I was laughing.

The next day I was bringing groceries in from the garage when Claudine came outside with the dogs. She was spending Thanksgiving in Phuket, Thailand so she was putting the dogs in a kennel for that week since I wasn't going to be around to take care of them. What surprised me was when Claudine's brother, Claude, came out of the house too. Claude had been discovered when he accompanied Claudine to one of her earlier photo shoots. He was a bit of a wanker, to quote Claudine, but I thought he was more like a diva.

He quickly developed a reputation for being difficult to work with and there were several very well established photographers who had blacklisted him. With his modeling career stalled before he was nineteen, he had ended up doing a couple of reality shows and ultimately landed a gig as a regular commentator on some weekly clip show that analyzed Hollywood's fashion choices. He was finally being paid to be the bitch he was. It was hard to say whether he got more fan mail or hate mail. Most people assumed he was just saying that stuff because he was being paid but he meant it, and he could be venomous and scathing sometimes.

I knew he'd made it when Kathy Griffin got on his ass in spite of her love for the gays. It was hilarious to hear her roast him like she did, and when Claude found out about it he actually did the first gracious thing I'd ever heard of him doing and sent her a note congratulating her on a job well done and her Emmy wins. Totally threw Kathy for a loop, from what I'm told. It was a good move on Claude's part.

"Hey Claude," I waved to him and he barely nodded in response. He could be such a tool sometimes.

"Ignore him. Joan Rivers made fun of the sunglasses he was wearing," Claudine told me and I wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. Scary.

"What's he doing here anyway?" I asked as I walked into my house and Claudine followed.

"Avoiding our parents, of course. Mom wanted him to take her to pick out new living room furniture or something like that and he's actually annoyed that they're _so_ accepting of his lifestyle."

"Seriously? He's mad because they accept him?" I shook my head at that.

"You know Claude," she shrugged and leaned against the counter while I unpacked groceries. "So where's the boyfriend tonight?"

"He's got homework to do and I'm a big distraction," I snickered.

"Boys," Claudine rolled her eyes. "You two are doing good?"

"Amazing. One of these nights I'll have to make dinner for all of us. I really think you'd like him if you got to know him better," I said and Claudine scoffed.

"I like him! Well, I mean what I know of him, which is mostly that he's gorgeous and looks good without his shirt on. You really need to remember to close your blinds," she stuck her tongue out at me.

I blushed and turned to the fridge since I had a pretty good idea of what she was going to say next.

"Are you sleeping with him?" She asked.

"If you're asking if I've had sex with him, the answer is no," I said simply. "We have slept in the same bed and we've done stuff, but we haven't had sex."

Claudine didn't look surprised. She knew how I felt about sexual relationships and she knew I had been waiting. She understood my reasons why and praised me for having the will power to hold out for the right one.

"I admire you," she handed me a carton of orange pineapple juice, "I wish I would have waited. Instead I let my first boyfriend talk me into doing it because everyone else was. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't great either. I didn't realize then what a big deal sex was sometimes. Now when I think about my first time I think about Brice Whitley and I am _so_ glad we aren't still together."

"You know it's interesting how many people say they wish they would have waited and then rush into sleeping with the person they're seeing. It's like they don't learn from their mistakes," I said as I continued to put things away.

"Well, I'm sure you know how much pressure you feel sometimes. For some it's just easier to go along with it than it is to say no, I guess," Claudine shrugged.

"I'm not judging; I just think it's interesting," I closed the fridge.

"So are you going to have sex with Eric?" Claudine asked me.

"I don't know. I mean, he's gone farther with me than any other guy I've ever dated. I'm crazy about him, I trust him and I know he's crazy about me, but we haven't had the sex talk yet," I left out the fact that Eric was also a virgin since it didn't seem like it was my place to tell her that. Not to mention there was the distinct possibility she would think it was bullshit. If I didn't know better, I know I would.

"But he knows you're a virgin, right?"

"Yes, he knows. We had that talk pretty early on and he understands. He hasn't pressured me at all. He's perfectly okay with waiting."

"Good. As long as you're happy, I'm happy for you," she said with a genuine smile.

"Claudine! Your dogs are playing in the mud!" Claude shouted.

"Excuse me," she said and took off running.

I put away the last of the groceries and started getting things together to make dinner. I found myself looking at the clock and wondering what Eric was doing. I could imagine him at his desk, jotting notes with a look of concentration and focus on his face. I could see the tension in his arm while he wrote and the way his hair would flop close to his eyes when he tilted his head. I nearly sliced my finger I got so zoned out on it.

Thankfully my phone rang and I set aside the knife while I answered the call. "Hello?" I asked with out looking at the display.

"I miss you," Eric said and those had rapidly become the three little words I had the most conflicted feelings about.

"I was just thinking about you," I confessed and reached for another celery stalk.

"What were you thinking?" He asked in his sexy voice.

"Just imagining you doing homework, nothing fancy," I shrugged and started chopping.

"Was I naked?"

I laughed and said, "No. Jeans and a white t-shirt. I could see the outline of your tattoos through it though."

"You have such a tame imagination," he teased.

"I save the naked bits for bedtime."

He groaned and asked, "So what are you doing now?"

"Making dinner."

"What's for dinner?"

"Chicken soup. Too bad you aren't here. I could use a taste tester."

"That's easily fixed. I could bring my laptop, my books and get on a train. I'd be there in a half an hour," he said in a taunting voice.

"And you would ignore them and have naked time with me instead," I snickered.

"I would finish my work first," he argued.

"Ha! No, you stay there and I'll stay here."

"You're a hard ass," he grumbled.

"Yes I am. Love it or leave it," I reached for a carrot.

"I don't love it yet but I'm closer everyday," he said sincerely.

Dammit. Why did he have to sweet talk me when I couldn't maul him in response? Ugh.

"Ditto," I answered.

* * *

><p><strong>Check out our nerd stumbling upon that g-spot. Or was it not an accident? Honestly, I'm not sure if it was or not. Methinks he just got lucky. And God bless Stan for trolling. He's such a weirdo, but I love him. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	15. Future Tense

Chapter 15: Future Tense

**EPOV**

I was standing at my apartment, doing battle with my keys, when the door across the hall opened to reveal my neighbor Isabel standing there. She was in one of her track suits, hair thrown into a sloppy ponytail and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. Then again, she probably hadn't. Her son, Ethan, was about two months old, if I remembered correctly.

"Hey, Isabel, how's it going?" I asked and she looked like she was ready to burst into tears.

"I'm exhausted. Ethan has caught his first cold and he was up every twenty minutes last night. Every time I'd get back to sleep he would wake up. Hugo had to sleep on the couch because he was due in court this morning so I was all by myself..." She trailed off miserably.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I put my keys back in my pocket for the moment. "Anything I can do?"

"I don't suppose you can breastfeed?" She joked and I shook my head.

"Sorry, I'm all tapped out," I answered and she laughed the laugh of a delirious person.

"Damn. It's just as well," she sighed. "Listen, I know it's a lot to ask and you can totally say no if you want..."

Sookie suddenly came around the corner in a pair of black sweatpants and a hot pink pullover sweatshirt. Her messenger bag was slung across her body and her hair was piled up on top of her head. Even in sweats she looked good enough to eat, and I intended to do just that before the night was over.

"Never mind," Isabel said as Sookie approaching.

"No, what is it?" I asked her.

"Hey," Sookie walked up and put her arm around my waist.

"Hey. Sookie, this is Isabel. Isabel, this is Sookie," I introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," Sookie extended a hand to Isabel.

"Likewise. Eric talks about you all the time," Isabel offered a tired smile.

"Oh really?" Sookie grinned up at me.

"All good things," I kissed the top of her head and looked to Isabel. "You were saying, Isabel?"

"Oh, it's nothing, never mind. I'm sure you have things to do. I'll see you later," she started back toward her apartment.

"If you two need to talk I can wait inside," Sookie offered and dug into my pocket for my keys, grazing my cock as she did so. Minx.

"No, no, I don't want to intrude on whatever-"

"Isabel, just spit it out already," I laughed.

"Okay, this is going to sound stupid but could you please just keep an eye on Ethan for five minutes while I shower? With him being sick I'm afraid to leave him alone. You know, with SIDS and everything I worry too much," she looked positively pitiful.

"Eric, go in there and watch the baby," Sookie pushed me toward the apartment. "If you don't, I will."

"You can both come in. I'm sorry for the mess," Isabel stepped out of the way to reveal a spotless apartment and a sleeping Ethan nestled safely in one of those bouncing chairs with a vibrating seat that Sookie probably would have loved if they came in adult size.

Sookie grabbed my hand and pulled me into the apartment. I closed the door behind us and watched while Isabel lifted the little chair the baby was sleeping in and set it on the coffee table in the living room. For a woman with a sick infant, the house was remarkably clean. I was expecting dirty diapers or half empty bottles of formula to be lying around, but that wasn't the case. I was also pretty sure I smelled a pot roast cooking.

"I'll just be five minutes," Isabel said as she backed toward the hallway.

"Take your time, we're in no rush," Sookie assured her.

"Thank you. The remote is on the end table if you want to watch TV," Isabel said and then disappeared.

Sookie whipped off her messenger bag and dropped it on the end of the couch. She was immediately bent over the sleeping baby with olive skin and a dark tuft of hair on his head. His cheeks were rosy and his little hands were balled into fists. He was kinda cute, if you were into babies.

"He's adorable!" Sookie cooed and looked at me over her shoulder. "Look how teeny he is."

She ran a finger over the fluffy hair on the baby's head and sat on the edge of the couch, her eyes full of wonder and awe as she stared at the baby in front of her. I sat down beside her and just like pretty much every other girl I'd ever met (besides Pam and my youngest sister Amber), Sookie melted into a total puddle of goo over the little shit machine snoozing away in front of us.

"Isn't he adorable?" Sookie squeezed my hand.

"I guess," I shrugged and her head whipped around.

"You don't like babies?"

"I didn't say that," I sat back on the couch. "I can just think of other things we could be doing right now that are way more fun."

Sookie rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, well, be nice or you won't be getting to do any of those things with me around. Besides, Isabel is obviously stressed out and all she needs is five minutes to herself to shower."

"The kid is sleeping! It's not like he's going to stroll into the kitchen and curl up next to the pilot light," I pointed out and Sookie shook her head at me.

"You're awful. And if you wake him up, I'm going to make you stay here until he's sleeping again."

"Do you have a kid I don't know about or something?" I asked her since she was being awfully defensive of my neighbor, whom she'd never been introduced to until a few minutes prior.

"No, but my friend Tara has a set of twins and I know how hard it was on her when they were babies. Being a mother is hard work and sometimes all a mom needs is five minutes to shower and dust off the cobwebs. What's so hard about sitting here and staring at this adorable baby anyway?" Sookie gave me the eyes of judgment and I knew she had a point.

But then before I could answer little Ethan decided naptime was over and instead, wanted to test the sound barrier with his ear piercing screeches. Sookie quickly whipped off her sweatshirt to reveal a thin white tank top underneath. She unstrapped Ethan from his seat and lifted him gently. She placed him right over her heart and rubbed his little back until he settled down, all the while calmly cooing at him. Ethan nuzzled against her chest and I swear the kid smirked at me.

"Awww, baby, its okay. Your mommy will be back soon," she said as she gingerly bounced Ethan and paced the living room.

I wasn't really surprised to see that Sookie was good with babies. She had such a soothing voice, for the most part, and she was a pretty laidback person. She also had a nurturing side and such a gentle sweetness to her that it was easy to imagine her in Isabel's place, quite literally nursing a sick infant of her own.

"Do you want kids?" I asked her since it seemed like the logical question at the time.

"Someday," Sookie smiled over at me. "I mean, right now would be awful timing since I'm not ready for it and it wouldn't really be fair to the kid to come into the world before I am, but yeah… someday I want to be someone's mother. What about you?"

"I like kids. I remember when Amber was a baby. I was six when she was born and I remember it was a bigger deal to Lacey since she was so used to being the baby at that point. Another sister was old hat for me. I helped change diapers and feed her and stuff. Lacey thought she was a living doll. Mom had a hard time keeping Lacey from stealing Amber out of her crib and stashing in her in her doll stroller," I recalled with a smile the number of times Lacey was sent to her room for doing that after being told not to.

"I babysat a lot, which is where most of my experience with babies comes from. That, and Tara is three years older than me so I was still in high school when she had her twins," Sookie explained and shifted Ethan just a little in her arms. "So do you want kids?"

"Yeah, I think so," I shrugged. "I haven't really given it a whole lot of thought yet seeing as how my baby maker hasn't been tested too much yet."

Sookie raised her eyebrows and said, "Well, you better start thinking about it. Things happen, regardless of the precautions we take."

Was she insinuating that she'd made up her mind about sex? I mean, I had assumed that was where we were headed but we hadn't really had that talk yet. Maybe it was time we did. I had feelings for her but I wasn't in love with her yet. I was falling, though, and I knew any day it was going to hit me like a ton of bricks.

A few minutes later Isabel came back, showered and dressed in a different track suit; her hair slicked back into a neater ponytail. She still looked exhausted but at least a little more awake. "Did he wake up?"

"Yeah, he started squawking. I hope you don't mind I picked him up," Sookie said as she handed Ethan over to Isabel.

"No, not at all," Isabel cradled her son in her arms. "Thank you so much for keeping an eye on him; I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Sookie took her sweatshirt when I offered it to her and she slipped it back on.

We left Isabel and Ethan shortly after that since it was feeding time, and we headed back across the hall to start our own dinner. Stan was at the one night class he had so we had the apartment to ourselves. As soon as I had the door closed I grabbed Sookie around her waist and pulled her back to me. I kissed her neck and whispered a hello in her ear since I hadn't really gotten one before.

She turned in my arms and smiled up at me. "Hi," she stretched up on her tippy toes and kissed me softly.

"How was your day?" I asked her and she rested her head on my chest.

"Not too bad. Class went well. I have to warn you, though, we'll be working with fish on Thursday so I'm going to try and soak my hands in vanilla but I can't promise they won't still be funky," she warned and I chuckled.

"Thanks for the head's up," I squeezed her.

"It would be a crime if I didn't," she sighed.

"Oh, then I could punish you," I rubbed myself against her and heard her snicker.

"Oh really?" she looked up at me. "And how, exactly, would you punish me?"

I wiggled my eyebrows and said, "Come here and I'll show you."

I pulled her back to my bedroom and even though it wasn't necessary, I kicked the door shut. Who knew when Stan would come home.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

If Eric thought what he did was punishment; I was going to misbehave as much as possible. There were happy endings all around and by the time we had dinner it could have qualified as a midnight snack. He fell asleep before me, which wasn't too surprising, but for some reason I couldn't get my mind to turn off and fall asleep next to him. Usually if we slept in the same bed that wasn't a problem. Between the human blanket that was wrapped around me and the slow, steady rhythm of his breathing I usually dropped off to dreamland in no time.

That night, however, I lay there snuggled next to him, wide awake, for way longer than I should have. My had was resting on his chest and I tried to close my eyes and concentrated on the gentle rise and fall of my head, rocking me to sleep in an odd way, but that didn't seem to help. I wasn't entirely sure what was sticking in my craw, but something was definitely bothering me.

By the time I finally fell asleep the sky was starting to lighten up a little. Dawn would be coming soon. Since I didn't have classes that day I could just sleep in and that was exactly what I planned to do. Once I finally dropped off the grid I was dead to the world. I didn't even feel it when Eric tried to wake me up or kiss me goodbye. It wasn't until I felt him bounce on the bed beside me many hours later that I finally woke up. By then, it was already afternoon.

"Well hello there, sleepyhead," he kissed my forehead.

I was all groggy and unaware of what time it was. He brushed some of my hair out of my face and I realized I hadn't even moved since he rolled out from under me that morning. Did I go into a coma or something? Jesus.

"Hi," I said sleepily.

"What time did you finally conk out last night?" Eric lay down beside me.

"Dawn, I think?" I rolled over and stretched. My neck was a little stiff from the way I was sleeping and I whined when I tried to stretch it.

"Come here," Eric motioned for me to move over.

I turned over so my back was to him and he moved my hair out of the way so he could rub my neck. He was a good boyfriend.

"What were you thinking about that it kept you up all night?"

"I don't know," I stretched my legs. "It wasn't anything in particular. I just couldn't get my head quiet."

He kissed my shoulder and said, "You should have woken me up. I would have stayed up and talked to you."

I smiled and looked over my shoulder. "I know. I didn't want to wake you. You had class this morning."

"Yeah, but I would have dealt with it. You're more important," he said as his fingers worked their magic on my sore muscles.

"That's sweet but I don't want you blowing off classes because I was suffering from insomnia."

"Let me worry about that," he kissed the base of my neck. "Better?"

I rolled over and kissed him on his forehead. "Much better. Thank you."

Eric pulled me closer and I snuggled against him. Unbelievably, I was still tired and when he ended up falling asleep, I did too. My rumbling tummy was what woke me up. I was starving. I slipped out of bed and headed toward the kitchen to see what was in there. When we'd made dinner the night before; I made sure to make enough for Stan to have some as leftovers. He was off at class for the moment but the leftovers were gone.

I ended up making myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and taking it to the living room to eat in front of the TV while I waited for Eric to wake up from his nap. I didn't want to wake him myself. I was watching a rerun of _Unsolved Mysteries_ when Eric came out of his bedroom and plopped down next to me on the couch.

"Was I snoring?" he asked and took the remote from me.

"No, I was hungry," I smiled over at him. "Do you ever forget how awesome a peanut butter and jelly is?"

He snorted as he channel surfed and said, "I haven't had one in years."

"I have them every once in a while. It's good comfort food," I said and then realized what I'd said.

"What do you need comfort from, Sookie? It feels like you're hiding something," Eric dropped the remote and turned toward me.

"I swear I'm not hiding anything," I pulled my knees up to my chest. "There's something going on in my head but I don't know what it is. Maybe it's just PMS."

"Sounds like a copout to me," he didn't look impressed with me.

I sighed in frustration and then leaned against him. I really didn't want to fight and I didn't want him to think that whatever my funk was about had anything to do with him. Whatever was bothering me was all in my own head and not knowing exactly what it was, was driving me bonkers. I wanted to be able to explain it to him but since I wouldn't understand it myself, explaining it to him was out of the question.

"When I figure it out, I promise you'll be the first to know," I offered since it was the best I could do.

Eric seemed to accept that and after a while we ended up in the kitchen, making breakfast for dinner. We had pancakes from scratch, with chopped up bacon bits right in the batter. They were delicious and I showed Eric how to make a basted egg to put on top of the pancakes. It was something I'd seen on an episode of _Man vs. Food_, a show I had gotten Eric hooked on since we started seeing each other.

I couldn't believe it had been six weeks already. In some ways it felt longer and in others, it didn't seem that long at all. We sat together at the breakfast bar to eat dinner and with his first bite of pancakes and eggs, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"Oh my God. My life is changed," he said while spearing another bite.

"Good, right?" I smiled at him and took a drink of my orange pineapple juice.

"Amazing," he took another bite.

We mostly ate in silence and when we were done, Eric and I cleaned up the kitchen together. I washed while he put away and it was done in no time flat. By the time we were finishing up in the kitchen, Stan was getting back from his class. He dropped his bag by the door and went straight to his usual chair.

"I'm taking over!" He called out a warning to us.

"Shocker!" Eric retorted and I rolled my eyes. They were like two old ladies sometimes. "Come on, we'll watch a movie in my room."

Eric pulled me along behind him and I paused to ask Stan about the leftovers. "Did you enjoy what we left you?"

"Hell yes. You're a good cook, Sookie. Now if only you played video games, bookworm back there would have some serious competition," Stan told me.

"Who says I don't play video games?" I moved a little closer to Stan.

"No offense, but you don't really look like the gamer type," he said as he started up his game.

"I bet I could wipe the floor with you," I said in a cocky tone that had both Stan _and_ Eric amused.

"I don't think so, Blondie, but you're welcome to try," Stan snickered.

"Wanna bet on it?" I asked, knowing full well that I was going to beat Stan's ass. I had a big brother who happened to take the particular game Stan was playing very seriously, and he hated it when I kicked his ass at it.

"Is she serious?" Stan looked at Eric, who just shrugged.

"Does she look like she's backing down?"

"Uh, hello, _she's_ right here," I waved my hand and Eric laughed.

"Name your terms," Stan looked at me with amusement.

"If I win you have to get the tattoo of my choosing," I said since I wanted to make it interesting. Stan raised an eyebrow while Eric barked out a laugh that got him the stink eye from his roommate. Personally, I thought it was perfect.

"Fine. _When_ I win, you have to make me the dinner of _my_ choosing and you have to wear a bikini while you cook it," Stan countered and Eric's face was priceless.

There was some serious 'I'm gonna kill the shit out of you' written all over it. I held out my hand to Stan and said, "Deal."

We shook on it and the game started shortly after that with Eric sort of stewing in the background. He didn't know I had a pretty extensive history with the game either, so it came as one hell of a shock to both of them when I managed to whoop Stan's ass in less than ten minutes.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Stan jumped out of his seat, his eyes fixed on the dead character lying on the screen.

"I told you I was good," I said while Eric was hauling me out of the chair and hugging me.

"You hustled me!" Stan accused and I shrugged.

"Maybe," I wrapped my arms around Eric. "Can we go watch a movie now? I'm bored."

* * *

><p><strong>Well who knew Sookie was a little gamer? I have yet to write the chapter where Stan pays up on the bet, but it WILL happen. Additionally, we'll find out what's bugging Sookie in the next chapter, I believe, so you won't have to wait long for it. I completely forgot to update yesterday, so maybe if you sweet talk me enough I'll double post today to make up for it. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	16. Clearing the Air

**I'm such a sucker for beggars *sigh* Here's your other chapter.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 16: Clearing the Air<span>

**EPOV**

To say I was impressed with Sookie's skills as a gamer would be an understatement. I had never seen someone take Stan out so quickly and I knew the game he was currently staring at like it had betrayed him was one of his favorites. He had spent countless hours playing that particular game and he was always bitching about one particular combo that was next to impossible to enter on the controls, and yet Sookie had been able to do it repeatedly. Stan was furious and completely shocked.

There would be no Sookie slaving over a stove in a bikini for him. I'll admit I had serious thoughts about putting super glue on his toilet seat for that shit. We'd been friends for how many years and the first girl I ever get really serious about—well, as far as Stan knew- he had to go and try to see her as close to naked as he was ever going to? Not cool. He'd pay for it. I intended to influence Sookie as much as possible into selecting a basket of kittens to be Stan's tattoo. And if there was any lucky he'd get it right on his ass.

I pulled Sookie back to my bedroom, totally intent on rewarding her for her victory but I was going to have to wait for her to stop laughing first. She was clearly enjoying the rush and probably just as humored by Stan's reaction to the loss as I was. He clearly didn't think there was any way anyone could beat him.

"I wonder how long it'll be before he asks for a rematch." Sookie asked between giggles and snorts.

"I give it a week or so," I smirked and pulled her into a hug. "That was pretty impressive, Miss Stackhouse."

"Why thank you," she curtsied slightly. "Finally my brother being an annoying pain in the ass pays off!"

I laughed at that and fell back onto my bed. Sookie climbed up next to me and snuggled in next to me. I was glad her mood seemed to have lightened. I was still concerned as to what had gotten under her skin in the first place. I couldn't think of anything I had done to upset her but maybe there was something I said. The fact that she hadn't fallen asleep until dawn told me that whatever it was that was bothering her had to be something pretty serious. I'd known she was still awake when I went to sleep but I had no idea she was up for that long.

Sookie seemed better and she had promised to talk to me about whatever was going on whenever she figured it out what was bothering her to begin with, so I didn't want to keep asking her about it. I didn't figure that PMS was the likely culprit but I wasn't going to say that to her. If that _was_ the issue I'd spent enough time around my moody ass sister Lacey to know that it was rarely wise to pull at that thread. I'd just leave it be and go on as if everything were normal.

We ended up watching _Caddyshack_, which was actually a favorite for both of us on account of both our fathers loving the movie. We lay there together, quoting lines from the movie and laughing at all the same bits. Rodney Dangerfield dropping anchor on the Judge's boat was the best part of the movie, as far as we were concerned.

"Hey, you scratched my anchor!" We said at the same time and were clutching our sides from laughing so hard.

Sookie had tears in her eyes and I reached over to wipe a couple off her cheeks. Her face was bright red, her hair was a mess and she never looked prettier to me than she did right then. Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned over and kissed her. It was strange to think that even though she hadn't been in my life for very long, it was hard to remember what things were like before she came along. I missed her like crazy when she wasn't around and I thought about her in an almost obsessive way.

When we weren't together I wondered where she was, what she was doing, who she was with, if she was thinking of me, did she miss me as much as I missed her… it was an never-ending loop. I wouldn't trade a single second of it for the world. When I was with her I felt like I could be myself, no matter how nerdy or weird I was sometimes. I didn't worry about her judging me, and even if she did, I knew she would accept me.

Then, like a ton of bricks, it hit me. I was in love with her. It all added up. I knew it had been building since the minute I saw her. From the very start I was drawn to her. Something about Sookie was screaming at me to get to know her, to spend time with her. Somewhere deep down I knew she was mine—she was the one I had been waiting for.

I could give a list of the reasons why I loved her but that would take too long. The simple truth of the matter was she just felt right. Everything about her… the good, the bad, all the things she shared and even the things she didn't want me to know; I loved. I loved being with her. I loved talking to her. I loved the little text messages she sent me with random thoughts throughout the day. I loved the pout on her face when she knew we wouldn't be seeing each other for a day or two. I loved that when we met on the street she jumped on me without a second thought and kissed me like the world was ending. There were so many reasons to love her and I intended to discover them all.

I pulled back and said, "I need to tell you something."

Sookie brushed some of my hair out of my face and said, "Okay." She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and I gently pulled it free. I totally intended to kiss that lip after I said what I needed to say.

"Well, I could make a big speech about it but I know you well enough to know you would just roll your eyes at me. You're a Band-Aid off in one pull kind of girl so here goes… I love you," I said and the smile on her face was immediate and legendary. I wanted a Polaroid of that face so when we fought in the future I would remember what it was I was fighting for, and it was that smile.

"Really?" she was all teary-eyed again.

"Yes, really. Sookie, if I was going to start lying to you about things, which isn't part of the plan, I definitely wouldn't start with this. It just hit me and I figured you should be the first to know," I smiled back at her.

Sookie was lost for words, which was probably the best part of telling her I loved her. Stunning her into silence wasn't something just anyone could do and it didn't bother me that she didn't make the same proclamation in response. When she was ready, if she ever felt the same way, she would tell me. I didn't want to hear it a second before she knew it to be true. Hearing those words when they were empty was about as satisfying as finding out your lover was faking an orgasm—or so I imagined.

We didn't say anything after that for a while, at least not with words. Her lips were plenty busy on mine and that was all the answer I needed.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I wasn't expecting to hear him tell me he loved me. It was the most beautiful way for a person to pull the rug out from under me. None of my other boyfriends had ever said that to me before. Frankly it was because they never got the chance to get that far. They wanted sex first and if love happened as a result, then great, but I was working it from the opposite approach.

Call me old fashioned if you want, but there was a part of me that thought the two things went hand in hand, and one didn't exist without the other. Sex was such a personal thing and sharing it with someone else meant trusting them and giving away a piece of yourself—at least that was what it meant to me. Add to that the possibility that no matter how safe you were there was always the possibility of a child resulting in the union and it was enough to give me pause.

Long ago I had made the decision with myself that I would never have sex with someone I couldn't imagine raising a child with. Maybe that was an extreme way of seeing things but it was a standard I had set. Seeing as how I didn't plan on having multiple baby daddies, I figured my body count, for lack of a better term, would stand at one, barring the death of the man I was with.

I felt bad that I couldn't tell Eric I loved him back but it definitely raised the question of whether or not I did. I had very strong feelings for him but I figured if one of them was love, I'd know it without question. So until it was glaringly obvious, staring me in the face, I wasn't going to say it. I wouldn't want to hear it from him just because he thought it was the right thing. I wouldn't just go tossing those words around if I wasn't sure I meant them.

"Hey, hang on a second," I pulled back from Eric after some serious making out. "I just want you to know that I care about you. A lot. I'm not… I mean it hasn't gotten there for me yet, but it will."

"When you're ready…" he traced his thumb over my bottom lip. "I just wanted you to know how I feel since tomorrow isn't a guarantee."

I smiled at him and said, "That's a good way to look at it. You never know what's going to happen and its better not to leave people wondering."

"Exactly," he pulled me a little closer.

"There's something I _do_ want to tell you because I haven't said the words before, even if it's been implied in the past," I pulled away and sat up on his bed.

This was a big deal and I wanted to be a little bit more formal about it. Eric followed suit and sat up against his headboard. I turned so we were face to face and took a deep breath. I got a serious case of cottonmouth, although I'm not sure why I got nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it was because even with all the things that had happened between Eric and me there was still that chance of rejection. Love or not, rejection could still happen.

"What's going on?" he reached for my hand and I was glad he didn't try to pull me into his lap or get me to snuggle with him. Too much contact right then would have shut me down.

"I've been thinking about it a lot and this probably won't shock you but I want you to be my first," I said, knowing he would completely understand what I was saying.

Eric grinned and said, "Yeah, I want that, too."

I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders and I couldn't help the smile that claimed my lips. I was glad we were mostly on the same page with things. It was awesome to be with someone who was facing the same direction I was, even if he was a step ahead of me. Our fingers laced together and since we were having a sex talk I figured it was the right time to bring up birth control, since there was no way I was going to have sex with him without it.

"Okay, so this is sort of an awkward conversation but one we need to have," I started and then stopped. Eric nodded for me to continue and I said, "So I've been thinking about options as far as birth control is concerned."

"I've had similar thoughts," Eric nodded and I was glad to hear it. Knowing he took the responsibility seriously was a big deal to me.

Obviously we would be in it together if I got knocked up, but I was a little freaked out after the way he had reacted the day before with Ethan—so _that_ was my issue! All of a sudden I launched myself at him and Eric caught me easily, caught off guard by my sudden attack on him. I was laughing like a loon, thankful to have figured out what the hell was eating at me. But then my laughter stopped as suddenly as it started.

"Okay, just to backtrack for a minute here, I figured out what my problem was," I pulled back and straddled his lap.

"What's the problem?" he played with my hair, gently twirling it around his fingers.

"Yesterday when we were over at Isabel's, I asked you how you felt about kids," I took another deep breath. My hands were resting on his chest. "You said that you liked kids but didn't really know if you want them in your future. I guess that stuck with me because it's something I know I want and it's not the sort of thing you can compromise on. It's not like deciding where to live or what kind of car to buy.

"Either you want kids or you don't and I don't want to have kids with someone who doesn't want them, which means I can't let myself get serious with someone who doesn't want them. You love me, and that's wonderful—believe me, you just totally changed my life by telling me that. But I want to know that we're moving forward in the same direction and if we're not, that's something I need to know now before I let myself get any more attached to you than I already am."

"You think too much," Eric said with a smile on his face, "but I understand why you're thinking so much about it. You're right; it's a big deal. I never thought about it before because I never really had a context to put hypothetical kids in, but after seeing the way you were with Ethan yesterday I know you'd be a great mother. You're patient, nurturing, sweet… all the things that make a good mother. So I think if it was with you, yeah, I'd want kids."

I breathed a sigh of relief and then pulled his lips to mine. Thank God we had that settled.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

So Sookie was freaking out over the future. I was willing to bet the even bigger issue was where we were headed as a couple, which was another thing we hadn't had an exact conversation about. I loved her and now she knew it. I wanted her and she wanted me back. She wasn't in love with me yet but I believed her when she said her feelings were strong and moving in the same direction as my own. I was patient; I could wait.

With that out of the way we were free to talk about birth control options. I remembered there were several methods available thanks to health class back in high school, but aside from condoms I didn't really feel like I had much of a right to weigh in. If Sookie wanted to get on the pill or something that was _her_ decision. Whether she chose to go with the pill, the shot, or one of those diaphragm thingies was completely her call.

"Since I have such a weird schedule I thought I'd go on the shot so I don't have to worry about taking a pill every day at the same time. Then eventually, if we both felt comfortable enough with it, we could stop using condoms if we wanted to," Sookie told me and that seemed reasonable.

"Sookie, it's your body. You have every right to protect it in the way you see fit, so you do what you're comfortable with," I told her.

Once again she looked relieved and I had to wonder if she thought I was going to battle with her over this issue. It was pretty obvious to me that while kids could be in our future _someday_, neither of us wanted that day to be within the next year. Having a kid would screw both of us up big time, which was why I was glad we were having this conversation. As awkward as it could be, a screaming baby in a room full of resentment would be much worse. I'll take condoms over dirty diapers, thank you very much.

"I'll make a call to my doctor and see if I can get in over Thanksgiving break to get the ball rolling," Sookie said and as happy as that made me, it also made me incredibly nervous.

Pretty much ever since I'd met Sookie I'd come down with a case of sex addict brain and I'd thought about all sorts of fun things we could do together. Thinking about it and actually doing it were two very different things and suddenly I was terrified I was going to suck. What if the chemistry somehow didn't carry over? That would pretty much kill our relationship, right? I hadn't considered that to be a possibility, but now it was all I could think about.

Sookie stretched out beside me, her conscience clear. She drifted off to sleep easily and with my brain going all haywire with worry over not being able to please her, I was the one left with the bout of insomnia. Great.

* * *

><p><strong>So some pretty big things happened in this chapter, huh? How adorable is Eric for being all worried he's going to suck at getting her off when he's proven in the past that he's more than competent in that department? But that's infinitely better than having an overblown ego. A couple of you have commented on how mature these two are. I suppose that's because this is coming from the mind of someone roughly 10 years their senior, but I also think that not all 19 year olds are idiots. You would think differently with the people you see running around on MTV fucking anything with a pulse, but I don't know anyone who behaves that way and I definitely didn't when I was 19. I was a huge fan of <em>Dawson's Creek<em> back in the day and I remember how people totally panned that show for having kids on it that seemed educated. I'm sorry, is that a bad thing? **

**Anyway... my point is, I see no reason to dumb these kids down just because that seems to be the cultural climate, which explains Sookie's freak out. I think that's a genuine concern for her to have. She's not thinking to get knocked up, obviously, but it's a potential side effect of sex so it's better to know where Eric stands on the topic than to find out the hard way that he's not interested in being her baby daddy. Thanks for reading!**


	17. Friday Night Fourway

Chapter 17: Friday Night Fourway

**SPOV**

"So when do I get to meet this boyfriend of yours? You've been stashing him away for way too long now," Amelia said on a Thursday afternoon when we were in the process of changing shifts at Goblins.

"It hasn't been on purpose, I promise. We're both just total home bodies," I shrugged and went to work making myself my bucket 'o latte.

"Yeah, well, it's time to step out. Besides, Pam and I need to meet some new people. Felicia and Ginger are boring as fuck after a while," Amelia rolled her eyes and I chuckled at that.

"Aww you mean Ginger runs out of intelligent conversation?" I snarked and Amelia stared daggers at me.

"Ginger and the word intelligent don't belong in the same sentence together. Ever. She's as sweet as the day is long but dumb as a box of hair."

"I should introduce her to my brother," I snickered. They would certainly make some of the dumbest babies ever.

"You probably should. You know, I don't think she's even a lesbian," Amelia offered and that got a laugh out of me.

"Ames, _you're_ not a lesbian either!" I had to point it out since it was true.

"Only because I refuse to label myself and impede my growth as a result. I want to be open to new experiences without worrying that one subculture is going to judge me for wanting to experience another. I've been with both men and women and I honestly can't say whether I prefer one gender over another. For me, it's all about the person and I don't care which bathroom they piss in," she said in that oh-so-eloquent way of hers.

"Nicely put," I smirked and pumped peppermint syrup into my mug.

"Copley didn't think so," she shrugged and that wasn't news.

"I thought you didn't give a fuck what he thinks?"

"I don't," she said with less than convincing conviction.

"But you want his approval?"

"I want his acceptance."

"What's the difference?" I raised an eyebrow and checked my steaming milk.

"His approval would mean that I acted with the hopes of garnering something from him, or perhaps curtailing my life to fit what _he_ considered to be the ideal. His acceptance means he sees me for who I am and doesn't try to talk me out of it, or change me in any way," she explained.

That made sense but I was still glad I didn't have to wage that war with my own parents. Mom could be a bit of a hard ass or a second guesser sometimes but it came from a good place. With her it wasn't about trying to control me, or mold me into what _she_ thought it should be; she just wanted to make sure I had considered all of my options. She wanted to be sure I was making the right choice for _me_.

"So, come on… when do I get to meet the boyfriend?" Amelia asked and stole my cell phone from the counter when it started to ring. "Is this him?" she held the phone up and there was a picture of Eric on the display.

"Yes, it is, now gimme," I said with my grabby hands reaching for the phone.

"No way!" Amelia whipped around and answered the phone. "Hello, Sookie's phone, is this Eric?"

"Amelia!" I tried to get the phone from her but she just kept dodging out of my way.

That evil little troll proceeded to carry on a conversation with my boyfriend about how I was hiding him away from her and by the time I was able to wrestle the phone out her hands, she was laughing hysterically and took off at a dead run. I was going to kick her ass for this. Hard.

"Hello?" Eric asked when all he got for a minute was me yelling at Amelia and breathing heavily.

"I am _so_ sorry about that," I apologized to him, "she grabbed my phone off the counter while I was making my latte."

"It's no big deal. Although I suppose I should tell you I know that voice. She sounds an awful lot like my Aunt Pam's girlfriend," Eric said and my jaw dropped.

"_Pam_ is your aunt? How the fuck is that even possible?"

"Grandparents decided to adopt later in life," he explained and that made sense.

"Oh. I never would have guessed. I mean, there's oddly enough a resemblance between you but still… How come you never mentioned her before?"

"Never came up," he said and I could imagine him shrugging.

"I can't believe I've known Pam all this time and… it's weird that we met anyway, isn't it?"

"Some might call that destiny or a sign," Eric suggested and I snorted.

"I'm not sure I believe in either of those things, but regardless of the reason, I'm still glad I met you," I told him just so he wouldn't think I was dismissing him.

"Same here. So, it sounds like we'll be having dinner with Amelia and Pam tomorrow. Are you okay with that?" he asked me.

"Oh, I'm _fine_ with it, but I'm worried about _you_," I told him.

"Why would you be worried about me? I know Pam and I've met Amelia before."

"Yes, but you haven't met overprotective, you-hurt-my-friend-and-I-kill-everything-you-love Amelia. If you think she's high strung now…"

"It can't be that bad. I think you're being overdramatic."

"And I think you're underestimating Amelia, but I guess we'll see tomorrow, won't we?"

"Yes, yes, we will."

"So what'd you need to talk about? The afternoon rush is about to start," I said while I stirred my latte.

"Nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice," he admitted and as much as I wanted to roll my eyes, I couldn't.

"You mean you aren't sick of me after spending two nights together?"

"Hell no. I like having you around. No, scratch that. I _love_ having you around," he informed me.

I really needed to call my doctor stat and look into that birth control thing before my body got the better of me and I gave it up before I was properly protected. He knew just the right things to say to push my buttons in the right way.

The bell over the door jingled and I looked up to see three people walk into Goblins. "Shit, I have to go, but I'll call you on my break, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I love you, Sookie," he said.

I blew him a kiss in response, said goodbye and hung up.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

Just as I expected, I got a call from Pam not too long after I got off the phone with Sookie. Pam worked quickly and had been able to get us a reservation at Table Fifty-Two for the following night at eight. Pam was handy that way, I guess. She was working in PR and had the ability to book a table at just about any restaurant in the city anytime she wanted to.

Pam found it appalling that I thought some of the best Mexican food in California could be found on the back of a truck but I didn't care. Pam had her tastes and I had mine. She got into all that fancy, fine dining crap. I figured it was probably one of maybe three things she had in common with Sookie.

We made arrangements to all meet up at the restaurant just before eight. Sookie was going to come over to my place when she got done with work to change clothes and get ready. Since we were under twenty-one the night wouldn't last very long for us. No doubt Pam had more pressing things to do than babysit the two of us the whole night. I also had no doubt that everything that happened would be reported back to our family, specifically to my mother.

That meant I'd be getting a phone call on Saturday, demanding to know why I hadn't told her I was seeing someone. I had planned to tell them about Sookie over Thanksgiving and at the last minute, I decided it was probably better of my mother heard it from me first. So while I was waiting for Sookie to arrive, I made the call.

"Hello?" Mom answered and I could hear the sound of my sisters bickering in the background.

"Hey Mom."

"Eric? Oh, hi, honey. How are you?"

"Fine. Anxious to get back to Cali," I said even though there was definitely a big part of me that wasn't at all anxious to leave.

"Well, just another week or so and you'll be here. What's going on?"

"Not a whole lot. I'm going out to dinner with Pam and her girlfriend tonight."

"Oh, that's nice. Where are you going?"

"I have no idea. Pam told me the name of the place but I can't remember what it's called. It's the place Oprah's chef owns," I could at least remember that much.

"Sounds nice."

"I guess. You know me; I'm not that fancy."

"No, you're definitely not," Mom agreed, probably recalling the number of times I'd turned up with a burrito from some roach coach. She always figured I was playing digestive Russian roulette whenever I did that but the food was too good to walk away. And hey, at least it wasn't Taco Bell.

"So there's sort of a reason why I'm calling," I started and hoped to God Mom didn't wig out. Usually she was pretty chilled out but every now and then she would get all flustered over little things.

"Oh? Hang on a second," Mom said when the bickering moved on to all out yelling. She covered the phone but I still heard her say, "Enough! If you two don't knock it off I'm moving the living room furniture and you two are going to fight to the death!"

Mom had been saying that since Lacey and I were old enough to get into it. Of course that always took the wind right out of our sails and the fighting ceased to be fun when it was parentally sanctioned. I could hear the sounds of my sisters voices getting farther and farther away, which meant they probably took the fight upstairs where Mom didn't have to hear it anymore.

"Sorry about that," she apologized.

"No big deal. So uh, the reason I was calling is because there's something else coming to dinner and I didn't want you to hear about it from Pam or Nana."

"Oh boy. Do I need to sit down for this?"

"No, no, it's good news. Well, _I_ think it's good news. I started seeing someone. Her name is Sookie and she's a culinary student. I met her at the place where I get my tattoos. She's friend with the artist who's done most of my work and before you freak out, she's not covered in tattoos from head to toe," I said and waited for Mom's reaction.

"What's she like?" Mom asked without a hint of judgment in her voice. She was reserving it for later, no doubt.

The first words to come to mind were 'like sunshine on a cloudy day' but no way in hell was I quoting The Temptations, even if it was completely accurate. Mom would think I'd gone over the deep end, and really, she wouldn't be entirely wrong. Still, there was no need to make her panic.

Trying to cram all I could about Sookie into just a few short sentences wasn't easy. I wanted to leave Mom with a good impression of her but there wasn't really time to go into too much detail. It was already after six which meant Sookie was on her way. Unless she wanted to get roped into talking to my mother on the phone, I needed to keep the conversation short and sweet.

"Well, she's strong willed, sweet and gets on my ass for eating too much junk food," I started, knowing those were good notes to hit with Mom.

"Ooh, I like her already," Mom chuckled.

"She's cool, Mom. One of these days I'll set it up so you can meet her via Skype," I promised.

"Yes you will," Mom said with authority in her voice just as a timer started going off. "Eric, I have to go, my dough needs to be punched down. You're still coming home for Thanksgiving, yes? You're not ditching us to stay with the girlfriend."

"No, ma'am, I'm not ditching you," I laughed, knowing my old man would be on the first flight to Chicago to locate and kick my ass for upsetting my mother that way.

"Good. Well I'll talk to you soon sweetheart. Say hello to Pam for me," she said.

"Will do. Say hi to Dad, Anastasia and Drusilla for me," I chuckled and Mom all out laughed.

"Oh, I'll do that. Love you kiddo."

"Love you too, Mama Bear," I said and then hung up.

I was in my closet debating which shirt to wear when my buzzer sounded. I figured it was Sookie so I just pushed the entry button and then went to the front door and left it cracked open for her. Back in my closet I didn't have a whole lot to choose from as far as dressier clothes. I had a couple of dress shirts, two pairs of dress pants and one sport coat for when I had to do presentations or something. I didn't bother bringing a suit with me from California since those were really only for job interviews, weddings and funerals.

"Hello?" Sookie called out from the front of the apartment.

"Back here!" I shouted back and then heard the front door slam.

"Are you decent or am I going to get lucky and catch you dropping your towel?" Sookie asked, her voice getting closer and closer with every step she took.

"Lover, if you want to see the goods all you have to do is ask," I responded with a smirk and leaned out the closet door so she would see me.

"Mmm maybe later. If you get naked now I'm going to want to keep you that way. Nothing looks good on you," she stretched up on her toes and kissed me hello.

"What's in the bag?" I asked when she pulled back.

"My dinner outfit. I think you're going to be particularly fond of the shoes," she winked at me.

"Oh really?" I never really paid much attention to shoes before but if they were on Sookie's feet it was fair to say I would at least give them a once over.

"Oh yes," she nodded and then kissed me again.

One kiss was rarely enough and before I knew it we were fumbling toward my bed and there really wasn't enough time for that, as much as I would have loved spending and hour or twelve kissing and feeling her up. Amazingly, I was the one to pull the plug and force Sookie into the bathroom. Already we had spent more time than we should have playing kissy face. It was close to seven and if we didn't hurry up I was never going to hear the end of it from Pam.

"You're no fun," Sookie pouted as she headed for the bathroom.

"I promise to make it up to you later. Deal?" I smirked at her.

"You better," she said and then closed the bathroom door.

I got dressed in my closet while she was in the bathroom. I swapped out my jeans for a clean, nicer pair and traded my plain gray t-shirt for a wifebeater and a fitted, white button down. Just for Sookie I went down the hall and braved the state of Stan's rather disgusting bathroom and swapped out my contacts for my glasses. I didn't know what it was with Sookie and glasses, but it was a huge turn-on for her. I was just tying on my chucks when the bathroom door opened.

I looked up and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating. She was wearing a gray sweater with sleeves that only came to just below her elbows. The neckline was one of those ones that looks like it could be a turtleneck if it wasn't so lazy and oversized. The sweater hugged her in all the right places and was definitely up close and personal with my two favorite playmates. Her hair was coiled up in a bun with little wisps loose around her face and ears. She was wearing a pair of super tight gray skinny jeans that looked like a second skin and when she turned around so I could see the whole thing I was pretty sure those jeans had magnets in the seat because all I wanted was to grab her ass. She looked amazing.

"Forget dinner," I said in a completely serious voice.

"Nope, too late. You're just going to have to wait until later," she teased and then stepped back into the bathroom to grab the shoes she had warned me about.

They weren't shoes at all, but dark gray leather boots with a four inch heel on them. Sookie slipped them on and they came up to about her knees. She strutted out of the bathroom with her turquoise earrings catching the light perfectly. The sway of her hips was hypnotic, as was the extra bounce she seemed to put in her step.

"Seriously, fuck Pam. Let's stay here," I grabbed her and pulled her into my lap.

"Careful there, Boyfriend, or I might damage your little friend," she said and palmed my very anxious for attention cock through my jeans. I groaned and closed my eyes.

"Not. Fair."

Just because she seemed to be in a very teasing mood and leaned in and kissed my neck while she stroked. If she kept that up I was going to have to change my jeans again. Willing away the wood caused by the jeans she was wearing just wasn't happening and Sookie wasn't helping matters any.

"Seriously, Sookie, you have to stop," I pulled her hand away and she pouted again.

"Later on, you're all mine," she warned and gave me one last nip on my neck before she got up.

I was so going to hold her to that.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't chosen my outfit with Eric in mind. He was a man all about curves and he had made it very clear to me that he was enamored with mine. So I chose clothes that I knew would hug and highlight them all and I had plenty of them. The boots were actually Claudine's idea. She had loaned them to me since I definitely didn't have anything like that in my closet. I was more into comfort than I was fashion and those boots, as sexy as they were, definitely weren't about comfort.

I stepped out of the bathroom to find Eric sitting on the edge of his bed in yet another pair of jeans that fit him perfectly and a white button down shirt that was straining around his arms and shoulders. He'd left the third button undone, revealing the wifebeater under it. Thanks to the thin material of his shirt I could faintly see the tattoos underneath it. There was a lot of ink on his arm and I was primarily fascinated with the most recent piece he'd added: the owl.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked as we rode down in the elevator together.

"Of course," he wrapped his arm around me and I leaned against him.

"Why did you get a tattoo of an owl? I mean, I love it—I think it suits you; it's just an odd choice," I looked up at him.

Really, the tattoo was a little creepy, since it went around his bicep and the eyes of the owl were such a start contrast to all of the intricate black lines that made up the feathers. There were bright orange dots that circled the pupils of the eyes and since the eyes landed on the inside of Eric's arm, his skin there was whiter than it was in other places. It was beautifully done, but then Godric always did fantastic work.

"I told you my dad was in Desert Storm, right?" Eric asked and I nodded. "Well, owls represent knowledge and wisdom, but they're also associated with Athena, the Greek goddess of war. It was believed that seeing an owl before a battle meant the warriors would be victorious. So the owl serves a dual function."

"A multi-tasking tattoo," I snickered, "gotta love that."

It was actually a pretty cool way of honoring his father and given that most Marines had plenty of tattoos, I was pretty sure Eric's dad thought it was cool too. The walk to Table Fifty-Two didn't take very long but I was thoroughly chilled by the time we arrived. Thankfully I had remembered to grab a scarf and some gloves before we left. I wasn't looking forward to hauling out my parka but it was going to happen sooner or later. I'd probably have to bring it back with me when I went home for Thanksgiving.

"After you," Eric held the door open for me and I walked past him.

"Thank you, sir," I winked over my shoulder and wasn't the least bit surprised to see his eyes trained on my ass.

"The pleasure is all mine," he grinned without blinking.

"Sookie!" Amelia called out to me and I turned to my right to see her standing very close to Pam with a big smile on her face.

I reached back for Eric's hand and we walked over to Amelia and Pam together. The only good thing about being cold was that it gave me a perfectly good excuse to be huddled so close to him. I exchanged quick hugs with Pam and Amelia before gluing myself to Eric's side again. Damn, he was warm. Of course that led to thoughts of other ways he could keep me warm and before I knew it, I was flushed and starting to sweat a little.

"Pam, party of four?" A hostess called out softly.

"That's us," Pam purred and turned toward the hostess.

Pam was immaculately dressed, as always, although how she afforded the designer labels she loved so much I had no idea. I knew she worked for some hot shot public relations firm but considering how young she was I had to wonder just what it was, exactly, Pam did to be able to afford the clothes, car and nice apartment she had over on the Gold Coast. I had been over there once for dinner—Pam ordered in- and she had a professionally decorated apartment in a high rise building I was pretty sure it would take six figures a year to be able to afford.

Then again, Eric lived in a pretty nice apartment as well, especially considering he didn't work and his father was retired military. I never gave much thought to Eric's finances since it wasn't really any of my business, but I was curious all of a sudden to know how he afforded it all. Oh well…I'd ask him about it later. At the moment I needed to keep my focus because I knew Amelia would ask all sorts of inappropriate questions.

The waitress came over to introduce herself as we were looking at our menus. Pam ordered herself a dirty martini and Amelia got a glass of wine. Eric and I stuck to water and it was no surprise when it came to us in pretty crystal goblets with a slice of lemon floating in it. To me that was sort of pretentious and I ended up fishing out the lemon slice; I didn't need lemon in my water before I could drink it.

"So, Eric, how's school going?" Pam asked and her hands folded under her chin. She hadn't even opened her menu.

"Pretty good. I'm glad we have a break coming up though," he admitted and I knew that was true.

He spent a lot of time reading, which I didn't mind at all, since it was usually while we were lying in bed together. I'd lean up against his headboard and he'd rest his head on my stomach so I could run my fingers through his hair while he read. I'd watch TV or read a book of my own if I brought one with me. It struck me then that we could be like an old married couple sometimes and the thought made me smile down at my lap and reach for Eric's hand under the table.

"What about you, Sookie?" Pam looked over at me.

"About the same. We've been talking a lot about presentation lately and as much as I love cooking, the artistry of it is making me consider a career in food styling."

"Ooh that could be very cool," Amelia nodded and swirled her win before sipping it.

"Let me know if you still feel that way after you graduate. My firm does PR for some of the gourmet publications. If nothing else I could maybe see who needs an intern," Pam winked at me.

"I will keep that in mind," I nodded and smiled at Eric when he squeezed my hand.

"So," Amelia looked back and forth between Eric and me, "y'all fuck yet?"

Annnnd there it was.

Eric choked on his water, Pam raised an eyebrow and my jaw might have hit the floor if I wasn't trying to figure out how to punch Amelia without making a scene. Thankfully the waitress came back to see if we were ready to order and Pam ordered the fried green tomatoes for an appetizer. The look on Eric's face was priceless. He ate plenty of vegetables but knowing his tastes as I did, I was sure he'd been a little more anxious to try the crab cakes, but we could always come back another time.

At least Eric was able to get something a little more substantial for dinner. The menu wasn't very extensive but it didn't need to be. I always figured less was more and it was better to have a few items that were done very well than it was to have a large variety that is done mediocre. He got the short ribs and I got a wood-fired Margerita pizza that I promised to share with Eric if he was willing to trade. Pam got an arugula and endive salad and Amelia got the mushroom spaetzle.

"Amelia, that isn't any of your business," I kicked her under the table since punching her wasn't an option at the moment.

"Oh come on, Amelia, if they were fucking do you think they would be there with us?" Pam carried on as if Eric and I weren't even sitting across from her.

Why Amelia wanted to embarrass me like that I had no idea but I was plenty pissed at her for it. She wondered why I didn't want her to meet Eric? Well, this was a stellar example. I had talked her down over her dysfunctional family shit with her father and this was how she thanked me. I couldn't believe her. Even for Amelia this was crossing a line.

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Eric suggested with a sharp tone in his voice.

"Yeah, let's talk about Copley's recent visit. How is Daddy these days, Amelia?" I narrowed my eyes at her and that took all the wind right out of her sails.

Pam cleared her throat and took a drink of her martini. Amelia looked like she was going to cry and there was a part of me that felt bad for bringing it up while I mostly felt like she had it coming. I didn't like being a petty, vindictive bitch but Amelia knew how I felt about my decision to wait where sex was concerned and for her to make light of it really didn't sit well with me. Like my mom always said, "Don't dish it out if you can't take it."

Some not so pleasant tension settled over the table and thankfully, our appetizer arrived a short time later. Eric wasn't wild about the goat cheese but he _loved_ the tomato bacon jam. No one really said much of anything for a while and instead focused on the food. Amelia wouldn't even look at me and of all the people not talking, Amelia was the loudest non-talker.

Since Eric couldn't stand small talk and Pam was content to talk about herself, I learned much more about her than I ever wanted to over the course of an evening. She did, however, tell a rather amusing story about Eric when they were kids.

"Eric told you about our family in Missouri, right?" Pam started and I nodded. "Well, when we were younger his family would come out for a visit in the summertime. If Eddy wasn't overseas he would drive out with Nicole and the kids and they'd spend a week on my parents' farm. When Eric was about seven he decided he was going to be a cowboy," Pam said with a grin that made Eric cringe.

"Oh for fuck's sake," he rolled his eyes and my face lit up.

"A cowboy, huh?" I winked at him and he glared at Pam.

"Oh yeah. He had a little hat and carried a bandana and everything."

"Awwww baby you never told me that!" I would have pinched his cheek but there would have been no coming back from that.

"I tried to forget it," Eric shook his head.

"Well I didn't," Pam said smugly.

"Careful, Pammy, I know a few things about you too," Eric warned and Pam just smirked.

"Oh bring it on, Wyatt Earp."

Listening to them was like listening to a conversation between Jason and me when we got into it. I found it interesting that they were more like siblings than you would expect an aunt and nephew to be but I attributed that to the closeness in age. Eric was clearly not thrilled with the prospect of Pam finishing her story but I wanted to hear it. Besides, I was sure I'd get my payback at some point. I'd certainly done my fair share of silly things when I was a kid.

"Anyway, the point is that Eric was ass over heels in love with the idea of the Old West and he must have watched one too many episodes of the Lone Ranger or some shit because he spent his entire week that summer pulling his little six shooter on people, calling them 'pardner' and talking about how someday he was going to have his very own Silver to ride or some shit." Pam finished her little story and it was obvious the goal of the night was to embarrass everyone at the table equally.

"Awww I think that's sweet," I smiled and Pam excused herself to go to the ladies' room. Of course, Amelia went with her.

"I love Pam but sometimes I want to kick her," Eric said once we were alone.

"Oh come on, it could be worse. Besides, I think cowboys are sexy and you've never seen my riding skills before," I winked at him.

"You're even more evil than Pam, you know that?" Eric shook his head at me, his eyes full of lust.

"Be a good boy and I'll show you when we get home," I leaned over and kissed his jaw.

* * *

><p><strong>Right, so, Amelia... kind of a bitch here, huh? How adorable is Eric talking to Mama Bear and the stories from his childhood. I think Ali989969 will especially appreciate that cowboy thing, and that was written long before I knew how she felt about Eric as a cowboy. Which reminds me that if you haven't read her story "Come Undone" yet, you're seriously missing out. Eric in Wranglers, ladies (and fellas, if that's your cup of tea). *fans self* Thanks for reading!<strong>


	18. Recovery

Chapter 18: Recovery

**EPOV**

I woke up to Sookie kissing my neck, half of her body on mine. I had no idea what time it was and I didn't even want to open my eyes because I knew she would stop, and what she was doing felt nice. In fact, it would have been a great way to spend the entire day but I knew she had to work later. I stayed perfectly still for a while, content to let her continue to lavish kisses on me.

"You're playing possum on me," she finally whispered after about ten minutes.

"How'd you know?" I mumbled in a sleepy voice.

"The way you breathe changes," her lips grazed my jaw and her hand rested low on my abs.

"How long have you been up?" I tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"Long enough to get a quiche in the oven," she snuggled against me, "should be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"What is a quiche?" I had no idea.

"Its this egg pie sort of thing. The one I made has bacon, chives and asiago cheese in it."

"Sounds delicious," I kissed her forehead and got out of bed to use the bathroom.

When I came out a few minutes later my bed was empty and I found Sookie in the kitchen checking on the quiche. She still looked tired when she stood up and I wondered if she spent another night not sleeping well because of the fight she had gotten into with Amelia. I didn't really take offense to Amelia's question, as inappropriate as it was. I didn't know why she seemed so intent on humiliating her friend, but I figured there was something I had to be missing.

"Did you sleep at all?" I trapped Sookie against the counter.

"A little," she shrugged and I frowned.

"How little?"

"I'm fine, Eric."

"If that was true you wouldn't look like you haven't slept for days. I know you're upset about Amelia but you can't let her get to you like this," I looked at her with concern.

"It'll be fine. We'll work it out," she insisted just as her timer went off.

"Let me get it. You should get back in bed," I grabbed the oven mitts from her.

"Eric, I can eat breakfast at the bar like a civilized person," she sighed.

"Yeah, I know you can but you're going to get back in bed and let me take care of you. You need to rest," I insisted.

"Fine," she finally conceded, "you win. I'll go be lazy. Thank you."

Taking care of Sookie was nowhere near a burden and I didn't mind doing it. She had been kind of enough to get up early and get breakfast started while I was passed out cold. The least I could do was slice her a piece of pie, pour her a cup of coffee and bring it to her in bed. My goal was to get her to take a nap, at least, before she went off to work.

I cut Sookie a piece of the quiche she'd made and plated it for her. It smelled pretty good, I had to admit. I never would have thought to make something like that. Then again, I could barely make toast without setting the kitchen on fire so quiche was way above my skill level. I had decided, however, that I was going to learn how to really cook something so I could make dinner for Sookie for a change. I'd already discussed it with Mom when I was giving her my flight information for Thanksgiving.

After getting Sookie a cup of coffee I headed back to my bedroom to find her sitting up in bed, leaned against the beadboard and flipping through TV channels. I handed her the coffee and then her plate. I kissed her forehead and then turned around to go back to the kitchen to get a plate for myself. I got myself a glass of orange juice instead of a cup of coffee, and then headed back to the bedroom to eat in bed with Sookie. She had managed to find some old school Bugs Bunny cartoons for us to watch.

"This is delicious," I said after taking a bite of the quiche.

"Thank you," she smiled over at me. "It's easier to make than you'd think."

"You'll have to show me sometime," I said and took another bite.

We ate quietly, for the most part, laughing occasionally at the cartoons we were watching. When we were done eating I took the plates back to the kitchen and put away the leftovers. I figured I'd wash our dirty dishes later after Sookie left. I went back to bed and Sookie snuggled into me. I played with her hair and rubbed her back, and before I knew it she was out cold.

I switched channels and put on Spike TV for a little while since _A 1,000 Ways to Die_ was actually an interesting show. I got sucked into a marathon of that and before I knew it, it was almost one in the afternoon. Sookie was supposed to be at Goblin's by three. I let her sleep until 1:30 before waking her up.

"Sookie," I shook her gently.

"Ten more minutes," she mumbled.

"It's already 1:30," I told her.

"Wake me up at two," she said and then dropped out of consciousness again.

I waited until ten minutes until two and then went to the bathroom to start the shower for her. She didn't want to get up when I came back to wake her, but she didn't have a whole lot of choice. It was too late to call in sick and I knew after she showered she would feel better.

"Sookie, it's time to get up," I knelt beside the bed.

A string of unintelligible stuff came out of her mouth and she pouted and whined before finally opening her eyes. "I don't wanna go to work," she stuck her bottom lip out, "it's comfy here."

"I know, but the bed will still be here when you get back," I promised her.

"Help me up?" she pleaded with that adorable pout still in place.

Sookie rolled over and I carefully scooped her up out of bed. I set her down on her feet when we got to the bathroom. Steam had filled the room and I kissed her forehead before leaving her alone to shower. I stretched out on my bed, my sheets saturated in her smell. My eyes drifted closed and I let myself drop off.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

The last thing I wanted was to go to work but I had to. I couldn't afford to take the time off. I took my time in the shower and wrapped my hair in a towel when I was done and wrapped a second around my body before walking out of the bathroom. Eric was stretched out on his bed, his eyes closed. I crept quietly to my overnight bag on the other side of the room and grabbed my clean pair of jeans and the fitted plaid shirt I'd packed.

"Feel better?" Eric asked while I searched for my bra and clean underwear.

"A little," I grabbed what I needed and then turned to face him, "I really don't want to see Amelia."

"You two should talk things out. You'll feel better if you do," he advised and I nodded.

"Yeah, I know, it's just… I knew she was going to be somewhat of a pain but that was just… it wasn't necessary, you know? I don't really like the fact that she would put my personal business out there like that. I don't go around telling people about her problems with her father. I'm really pissed at her right now."

"I'm not saying you don't have a right to be, but maybe if you talk to her about it at least you'll be able to sleep tonight."

"We'll see," I shrugged.

Honestly, I wasn't really ready to forgive her yet for being such a twat to me. If she apologized I would accept her apology but I wasn't holding my breath. I could admit I hadn't been right to snap back at her and mention Copely but I wanted her to know that she'd pissed me off by phrasing her question the way she did. Of all the things for her to ask, I would have figured she'd ask about what Eric was studying or maybe even how many previous girlfriends he had. Instead she went right for the jugular, and that wasn't cool.

I went back to the bathroom to get dressed and comb my hair. I plaited it into pigtails that I French braided so my hair would be out of my way. I brushed my teeth and put on a little mascara and a smidge of eyeliner on my bottom lids. When I walked out of the bathroom again Eric had his laptop set up on his bed, along with some of his other homework.

"Where's the ho-down?" he teased, which was brave of him after the story Pam had told the night before.

"I don't know, _pardner_, you tell me," I smirked and his eyes narrowed at me.

"Not funny," he folded his arms over his chest.

"Awww baby," I cooed at him and climbed up into his lap. "You know, I think you would sexy as hell in a pair of tight jeans, leather chaps…mmm…"

"Oh really?" he lifted an eyebrow.

I nodded and cupped his face with my hands. "I'm biased though. I think you look incredibly sexy right now in nothing but your sweats with your hair all crazy."

I leaned in and kissed him and before I knew it he was trying to roll me under him. I had to push back because if he got his way, I would never leave and I was already close to running late.

"Tease," he kissed me once more and let me go.

If anyone else had called me that I would have been horribly offended, but I knew Eric was merely pouting. Honestly, if the shoe was on the other foot I probably would have said the same thing. He got out of bed and walked me to the door. He kissed me goodbye and I promised to call him when I was on my way back.

Thankfully we were in a good part of the city so I wasn't too worried about being attacked, assaulted or anything of the like on the short walk back to his place. I slipped on my gloves, scarf and hat while I rode the elevator down to the first floor. I hadn't looked outside at all before leaving Eric's apartment but I assumed it would be chilly outside. It was the middle of November and temperatures were barely getting into the fifties away from the lake.

Snow flurries were falling and I groaned at the thought of having to trudge back to Eric's place in slush. Maybe taking a cab would be a better idea on the way home. I really hated winter for that reason. Snow ceases to be awesome after seeing it for months on end, especially when you have to trudge though sludge, ice and whatever else everywhere you go. Constantly worrying you're going to fall and break your neck isn't really as much fun as it sounds.

I walked into Goblins just before three to find the place moderately busy. I held my breath and cussed under my breath when I saw Amelia behind the counter. I really had been hoping she would have called in sick. I just didn't want to deal with her, or her bullshit yet. I made a beeline for the backroom to deposit my stuff and reluctantly got behind the counter.

Amelia didn't say a damn thing to me. She just finished cleaning up her mess and then walked away. I was shocked. It wasn't like Amelia to be that way so I wasn't sure of what to make of her behavior. No doubt I'd pushed a button she didn't want me to push but that made two of us, and given that she started it, I was going to wait for _her_ to apologize. I know that sounds immature but I felt like I had a right to be that way given the way she had treated me the night before.

I went about making my usual bucket 'o latte like it was any other day. Amelia walked out a few minutes later, all bundled up and prepared to deal with the harsh early winter winds and the little ice chunks slapping her in the face. I got to work, starting with the dishes that needed washing behind the counter. After that I took a trip around the floor to clear away the dirty mugs and plates that were scattered on various tables.

It was going to be a long ass night.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

I was so relieved when Eric arrived to walk me back to his place at closing time. I hadn't been expecting him to come but I was thankful I didn't have to walk home alone. I was fucking wiped out and all I wanted was to take the damn braids out of my hair and climb into bed so I could pass the fuck out.

"How was your day, dear?" Eric asked after I set the alarm and locked up the shop.

"Long as hell," I whined, jumped on his back and kissed his neck, "my back is killing me."

"Lucky for you I know just how to fix that," Eric said, his hands holding the back of my knees.

"Oh really?" I nibbled his ear.

"Yes, ma'am," he didn't say anything else but I knew enough about Eric to know that if he had a plan, he'd probably put some thought into it and I wasn't likely to be disappointed.

I didn't really have much to say about my night at work. We'd been a little busier than usual on account of the piano player that had been booked, but otherwise it was pretty much the same as any other night. By the time I was cleaning up it had felt like I'd been working for about three weeks straight and I could hardly keep my eyes open on the walk home. Eric walked the whole five blocks with me on his back.

He finally put me down when we were in the elevator and all I could do was hug him. "You are the sweetest boyfriend in the whole world, do you know that?" I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

"I love you too, Sookie," he squeezed me back.

* * *

><p>EPOV<p>

Sookie seemed to be in a better mood, at least, when I got to Goblins. I knew she was capable of walking back to my place all by herself but given how tired she was when she left, I'd thought maybe she could use a little company. Besides, if she had gotten into it with Amelia I was sure she was going to want to talk about it. Pam had called me right around the time I sitting down to eat.

She'd tried to talk to Amelia about Sookie, but Amelia wouldn't say anything. Pam was of the impression they hadn't worked things out, and I figured out pretty quickly after getting to Goblins that Pam was probably right. I didn't ask about Amelia until we were back at my apartment. I was taking off my chucks and Sookie was worming her way out of her winter gear when I asked.

"Amelia ignored me when I got there," Sookie shrugged and tried to make it look like she wasn't bothered, "and I ignored her right back. When she's done being a baby, then we'll talk."

"I'm not taking her side, but why not just extend the olive branch to her?" I suggested and Sookie shot a death glare my way.

"Because she was a twat first and I know it's immature, but I want her to say she was wrong first," Sookie stuffed her hat into one of her coat sleeves and her scarf into the other.

I sighed and shook my head. The whole thing was kind of stupid, in my opinion, but I kept it to myself. I didn't need my girlfriend pissed off at me too. Sookie was proving to be the sort of person you didn't want to have mad at you. I headed back to my bedroom, expecting Sookie to follow me. I had a little something all planned out but I got a little sidetracked when she walked into my bedroom with a plate full of leftover pizza.

"I'm starving," she exaggerated the word and climbed up onto my bed to eat. "Where's Stan? It's freakishly quiet around here."

"He had a date, if you can believe it. I think he's getting a little jealous and uncomfortable with all the time we're spending together," I told her and Sookie set her plate down.

"You're not ignoring him, are you?"

"What? No! Stan's just… he's Stan. I love the guy but I really don't get how he operates sometimes. He gets really intense into the gaming for a while and then he gets sort of needy for human attention. Maybe it's the byproduct of being a military brat," I shrugged. Unlike Stan's family, mine had stayed put. I attributed a lot of that to Dad being an instructor after he got back from Desert Storm. He would travel for briefings, training and the like, but home base had remained Oceanside, California. We were lucky.

"So who's the girl?" Sookie asked and I shrugged.

"I have no idea. Stan gets secretive when it comes to girls and his love life," I went into the bathroom and started the water for the shower.

"Stan's had girlfriends before?" Sookie called out.

"A few!" I called back and adjusted the water temperature.

"Well I'm glad he's getting out more. It's not healthy to be locked away playing video games that much," Sookie said once I was back in the bedroom.

She was munching on her pizza and I was pulling my clothes off. The excessive amount of bare skin was slowly getting her attention, and it wasn't long before she put the plate down and focused on me. She had a dopy smile on her face when she looked up into my eyes.

"Are you trying to distract me from eating?"

"Nope, not at all. I'm just going to go take a shower. You're welcome to join me if you want," I winked at her.

We'd done that before and it was fine. Well, it was more than fine. At first it had been a total battle for control of myself. It wasn't meant to be sexual in nature, but keeping my hands to myself was difficult. There was so much skin to explore and being around Sookie when she was naked and wet made it difficult for me to remember why we weren't screwing each other's brains out like most couples would be.

I was ready to move forward but since Sookie hadn't said anything, I assumed she wasn't. I loved her, which was what mattered to me, so anytime she gave the green light I figured we were good to go. But I wasn't going to be pushy about it. When she was ready, she would tell me so.

"I'll catch up with you," Sookie promised with a wink before grabbing her plate again.

I smirked, dropped my boxers and went into the bathroom with the sound of Sookie whistling behind me.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I've been working pretty tirelessly on an outline for a new story and I want to get it all out of my brain while it's in there but since I'm writing it by hand it only goes so quickly. On top of that I woke up this morning with a fever and sinus pressure like whoa. We'll see how long it takes for this nonsense to go away. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	19. The Truth

Chapter 19: The Truth

**EPOV**

I was sound asleep the next morning when my phone ringing shrilly on my bedside table woke me up. Sookie had kissed me goodbye before she left for work, but I had immediately gone right back to sleep. Blindly, I reached for my phone and opened one eye just a little to see Pam was calling me. Fuck. What did she want?

"Someone better be dead," I grumbled. Sookie had kept me up late doing all sorts of things that tired me out and ended up requiring I take a second shower before bed.

"Good morning to you too, Oscar the Grouch. I'm calling because Amelia has been nothing but a pain in the ass since Friday and I suspect it's because she's still at odds with that cupcake of a girlfriend of yours. This shit must end," Pam pronounced.

"I agree with you but I don't want to get involved. They're adults; they'll work it out when they're ready," I was so tempted to hang up on Pam but she'd just call back.

"Fuck that. If we leave it up to them they could drag this out for weeks, and as long as Amelia's pissed off, I'm not getting pussy," Pam told me and I groaned.

"Dammit, Pam, I don't want to hear that shit," I pulled a pillow over my head. It smelled like Sookie. "Just tell me what you want me to do so I don't have to hear any further details about your sex life."

"Just make sure Sookie can't run when I bring Amelia by Goblins later," Pam instructed.

"Fine, deal. I'm going back to sleep now," I told her and hung up.

Of course my brain was wracked with images of Pam trying to put the moves on Amelia, and that just totally ruined any shot I had at going back to sleep. I grumbled all the way to the bathroom and didn't stop until after I was done peeing. I brushed my teeth with my eyes closed, trying to find a much more pleasing image to replace the one of Pam and Amelia. Ah, yes, Sookie in the shower. _Much better_.

I walked out of the bathroom a short time later to find that it was already almost noon. Damn, I hadn't slept that late in a while. Sookie was getting off work at two and she had asked me to be a guinea pig for a new recipe she was trying out. I figured even if it was awful—which I was sure it wouldn't be- at least I got to spend more time with her. Our big separation was coming up in a matter of days, thanks to Thanksgiving, and I wasn't looking forward to being without her, even if it was only for a couple of days.

Stan was in the living room putting on his shoes. His luggage was piled by the door. That was when I remembered he was supposed to fly home Friday. He'd changed his flight so he could go out with the new girl and he had made himself scarce since Friday night.

"What time's your flight?" I asked as I went to the kitchen to see what was in the fridge. I prayed for Sookie leftovers to be in there somewhere.

"Plane's supposed to take off at six, so I have to haul ass to the blue line soon," Stan sat back on the couch. "Where's your girl?"

"Working. Where's yours?" I countered and grabbed the orange juice.

"I have no idea," he admitted.

"How'd the date go?"

"Eh," Stan shrugged but he wasn't really the kind of guy who was going to get gushy and say it went well. Stan was more likely to just start bringing the girl around.

"What's her name?"

"Lindsay."

"You're being really fucking tight lipped about this."

"Yeah."

It dawned on me immediately the reason why. "You like her!"

"Obviously, fucknut," Stan glared at me but I just grinned.

"Gimme something to work with here, man," I walked around and sat on the chair that Stan usually occupied. The cushion was permanently indented with the shape of his ass.

"I'm gonna give you a junk punch in a minute," Stan warned.

"Bring it, Short Stack," I smirked and his eyes narrowed further. He hated it when I called him that.

"Fuck you, Bean Pole."

"Dude, just consider this payback for all the comments I had to hear you make about the perfection of my girlfriend's chest for the first two weeks after you met her," I chugged down some of my juice.

"And I still maintain that Sookie has one of the top ten racks in the world," Stan nodded.

It took a little more pestering on my part, but Stan finally told me that Lindsay was a movie critic for the Chicago Tribune. She was also a transplant from a small town in Utah, the youngest of six kids. Her father was a preacher in the Mormon Church and her mother had stayed home to raise the kids. Her family had been less than supportive of her decision to leave Utah but it was what Lindsay wanted.

Stan left shortly after that and it was obvious he didn't really want to talk about Lindsay anymore. He was the kind of guy who kept the really important things to himself. Stan didn't really talk a whole lot period, so it was kind of amazing he said anything about Lindsay at all. Mostly, I was glad to have the house to myself for a couple of days. The place needed to be cleaned up, which wasn't something Stan was particularly willing to help with.

I cleaned up the small sea of empty Mountain Dew bottles that littered the floor and took the dirty plates to the kitchen. It was kind of embarrassing to bring Sookie around when I knew the place was a wreck but she also knew the mess wasn't mine. I'd caught her cleaning once and forced her to stop. I wasn't going to let her act like Stan's maid. He was a grown man and needed to learn how to clean up after himself. Maybe having a girlfriend would make him less piggish.

After I was done getting the apartment straightened up I cranked up the Arcade Fire, which Sookie had gotten me into listening to, and hopped in the shower. It was while I was shaving that 'My Body is a Cage' started playing. That song had grabbed a hold of me from the first time I heard it. I was slowly coming around to Sookie's musical tastes. My iPod was rapidly filling up with bands I'd never heard before her, but I didn't mind the changes.

Led Zeppelin and the Eagles would always be musical dietary staples, but there was nothing wrong with spreading my wings either. I got dressed and then headed out to Goblins to pick up Sookie and meet up with Pam. I didn't know what she had in store as far as getting Sookie and Amelia to talk was concerned, but the sooner the two of them worked things out, the better.

I was going to miss Sookie like crazy, but I was definitely looking forward to the much milder temperatures of California. I'd been following the weather back home and they were predicting a warmer than usual streak. Just the thought of spending time in the ocean made me happy. I tried to ignore the blustery chill of the lake effect winds, but that was pretty hard to do.

_It's only going to get worse_, I reminded myself as I walked the rest of the way to Goblins. My first winter in Chicago had been a real bitch. I almost wanted to quit school after the first semester because of it. Snow was kinda cool for a little while but once I realized how much it fucked up my commute, I started to reconsider.

Of course, now that I had Sookie my mind was thinking of all the ways we could keep warm on cold winter nights. I had to shake those thoughts off since I was walking into a coffee shop. Sookie was behind the counter, sweeping, when I walked in. She looked over in my direction and smiled when she saw me standing there. She looked ridiculously pretty with her hair pulled back in one of those messy knots and one of her low-cut shirts on.

"Hello gorgeous," I smiled at her as I walked over to the counter.

"You shaved!" she looked disappointed.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"I like the scruffy look," she shrugged and leaned over the counter, "but it's your face. You do what you want with it."

I leaned down and kissed her softly and tried not to stare too hard at my new friends who seemed to be reaching out of her shirt to greet me personally. I'd get to them later, no doubt. It was obvious they missed me.

"It'll grow back," I promised her.

"Mmm… I might learn to like your chin," she scrunched her nose at me in an adorable way and I pulled her face back to mine to kiss her again. "What was that for?"

"For being an adorable girlfriend," I smiled at her and then stepped back.

The smile on her face was priceless and to reward me for calling her adorable, she gave me a little shimmy before getting back to her sweeping. I quickly ascertained she was sweeping up a broken mug. If it was closing time I would have offered to help. Instead it was my job to make sure she didn't bolt the second Amelia walked in. Sookie finished sweeping and made me a peppermint hot chocolate to sip while she finished the rest of her chores before turning things over to Amelia.

I had just picked a table not far from the door when I saw Pam coming up the street looking half frozen and entirely annoyed. Amelia didn't look much happier. I was then glad I asked for a to-go cup, and hoped whatever Pam had planned would work. I stared blankly out the large window at the front of the coffee shop and just watched people moving about. I braced myself as Amelia and Pam walked in and hoped for the best.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I was just pulling a blueberry scone from the warmer when the bell jingled over the front door to alert me to a new customer. I turned to see Amelia and Pam walk in, and nearly burned my hand on the warmer because of it. I knew Amelia was taking over after me but I really had been hoping it would just be a smooth, quiet transition like it had been the day before. There were too many customers sitting around drinking coffee, fucking around on the web or reading the Sunday paper for the two of us to get into it.

All the same, Pam caught Amelia's arm before she could head off to the back and punch herself in. "Stop right there, sweet cheeks. It's time for you and Goldilocks to work out this shit storm," Pam said none too quietly.

I cringed and handed over the blueberry scone to the waiting customer and offered an apologetic smile. Pam meant well but her timing was all wrong. The look on her face, however, told me that she didn't care what time it was, and she expected Amelia and me to work things out. That could be a problem since I was still perfectly content to be stubborn.

"Sookie, sweetheart, would you come over here for a minute so we can clear up this nonsense between the two of you?" Pam asked and I sighed heavily.

"Amelia's a big girl, Pam. She can come and talk to me when she's ready," I didn't even bother looking over at her.

"Yes, well, since you two are acting your shoe size instead of your age, I thought you could use a little push. I figured trapping you in an elevator would be too cartoonish," Pam said dryly.

I looked over at Eric, who was awfully fixated on his coffee cup and it struck me that he was probably there to act as reinforcement for this little rouse. I rolled my eyes at this lame attempt at a Parent Trap sort of fix up, and then headed to the kitchen. Amelia followed me, although not willingly.

"Now you two stay in here until you work out your issues like good little dysfunctional friends, and I'll keep an eye on the customers," Pam offered.

"Um, no, you won't. I'm getting my stuff and going home," I grabbed my coat and punched myself out.

"You're not leaving this room until you work it out. I'm tired of sleeping next a Tasmanian devil every night, so for the love of fuck, quit being so goddamn stubborn and just have a silly little Oprah breakthrough moment. Please, before I do something crazy like wear synthetic fibers or buy generic makeup," Pam pleaded and then turned around and walked out.

I stared at Amelia, who was staring back at me. It was obvious neither of us wanted to be the first to talk. Finally, I got tired of waiting and I said, "I don't know what I did to make you be so hateful toward me, but I wish you would have handled it in a different way."

Amelia scoffed and angrily pulled off her coat. "Oh that's rich, coming from you!"

"I snapped at you because of what you said to me first! I don't know if you think you were being funny, or why you said what you said, but it was rude and really disrespectful. You're the one who's always talking about what goes around comes around, and you got what was coming around. Don't dish it out if you can't take it," I said firmly.

I knew damn well Amelia had a hard time admitting it when she was wrong. I didn't really know anyone who was graceful enough to openly admit it when they were obviously wrong, but with Amelia it was like pulling teeth. The fact that Amelia wouldn't look at me told me she knew I was right. I sighed and threw my hands up in the air.

"You know what? Fuck it. My boyfriend is waiting for me and this is a waste of my fucking time. Have a nice Thanksgiving, Amelia," I yanked on my coat.

"Wait!" she called out just as I was about to walk out. "I was a twat, okay? I shouldn't have said what I said and I don't even know why I said it. I didn't think you were going to be so offended by it."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and slowly blew it out before turning around. "You didn't think I would be offended by you loudly asking after my sex life in the middle of a crowded restaurant? Never mind offending me, but did you think about Eric's feelings at all? It was just so incredibly thoughtless, Amelia."

"I know, I know," she looked down at the floor.

"Thank you for apologizing, but I don't know if I'm ready to let it go just yet," I said honestly.

Amelia said nothing else so I walked out of the kitchen and was appalled to see that Pam and Eric had taken off. There were customers waiting with frustrated expressions on their face and I stuck my head back in the kitchen to let Amelia know she had a mob waiting for her. I looked around for Eric, thinking maybe he'd gone over to check out the bookshelves but he wasn't there. I grabbed my cell out of my bag and of course, my battery was dead. Wonderful.

I had no idea where Eric went but I figured going next door to the tattoo shop was a good start. I slipped on my mittens and then wrapped my scarf around my neck. It made me sad to think I was _definitely_ going to need to get my parka when I went home for Thanksgiving. I stepped outside in time to see Eric and Pam arguing with one another on the sidewalk. Fantastic—this day was just getting better and better.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I watched Pam corral the girls into the kitchen and wondered how long it would be before I heard breaking dishes or saw them all come barreling through the door pulling hair and scratching each other in some kind of a cat fight. I could tell by the pissed off expression on Sookie's face that she was none too happy with being forced to work things out with Amelia. When Pam came out of the kitchen alone a short time later, I worried she'd lost her patience and simply strangled both of them.

"Come on, we're leaving," Pam got up.

"I'm waiting for Sookie," I didn't make a move to get up.

"Well send her a text and tell her we're going next door. I want to look at tattoos," Pam marched toward the door.

Ummm okay. I did as Pam suggested, grabbed my cup and followed her out of the Goblins. The tattoo place was busy but that wasn't unusual for a Sunday. Sophie was behind the counter in her usual gothic getup, only now her hair was all black. She looked like a corpse, and the red had been garish enough against skin as pale as hers. Her face lit up the second she saw me and she came around the corner to give me a hug.

That was uncomfortable.

"Hi, Eric, how've you been?" she asked as if we were old friends who hadn't seen each other in ages.

"Fine. Is Godric around?" I asked, stepping back from her as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, he's in the back working on someone. Anything I can do for you?" Sophie said with sparkling eyes that told me she would be willing to do pretty much anything I wanted.

"No, I'm good. Just tell him I stopped by, will you?" I asked and she nodded, her hand resting on my arm.

"Hey, Morticia, I have a question," Pam said to get Sophie's attention.

Sophie was clearly unimpressed with Pam but that didn't stop her from letting her hand trail down and grab my ass on her way over to Pam. My eyes bugged out a little, and at first I was too stunned to even comprehend what had just happened. I recalled the conversation I'd had with Sookie in the past about Sophie and the flirting. I had thought it was just a harmless little crush that would go away. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it and make Sophie feel bad.

However, she had most definitely crossed a line and I was going to have to talk to her about it because she couldn't keep that shit up. I wasn't interested and I was pretty sure if she tried to pull something like that in front of Sookie, I was going to end up breaking up a cat fight.

I was lost in my own reverie until I heard Pam ask, "Do you always feel up other women's boyfriends, or is it just Eric that you can't keep your grubby little paws off of?"

Sophie looked completely offended, although I was pretty sure _I_ was the one who should be pissed in the situation we were in, and she stormed off to the back of the shop. Pam smirked, completely proud of herself, and headed toward the door. I stood there trying to figure out my next move before following Pam out of the shop. I didn't need Sophie thinking I was going to make apologies for Pam.

"What the fuck was that?" Pam asked when I walked outside.

"I don't know," I shook my head, still dumbfounded by what had happened.

"Not her, fucktard; you! What the hell were you thinking not telling her to keep her hands off the goods?" Pam demanded, her arms folded over her chest and she cheeks flaming red. My jaw dropped, wondering how in the hell it was _my_ fault that Sophie couldn't keep her hands to herself. "If some asshole decided to grab one of Sookie's tits, would you be alright with that?"

"Of course not!" I argued, "It just happened so fast."

"Bullshit! You like the attention," Pam looked me up and down.

"I have Sookie. What the hell do I need Sophie for?" I countered.

"Your ego certainly seems to be getting a rise out of it, even if your cock isn't with the program… yet…" Pam glared at me.

"I'm not interested in Sophie!" I shouted back at her.

"Then you better tell her that and do it in a way where she can't possibly mistake what you mean before Sookie finds out about this shit and dumps you," Pam popped her hip and tilted her head.

And of course, just as luck would have it; that was the moment I noticed Sookie standing a few feet behind Pam. Fuck. My. Life.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the lateness on the update with this one. I had to fish a copy out of my sent mail since the original is on a laptop instead of my desktop. But, here is it. Annnd I'm going to go hide to avoid all the tomatoes and pitch forks. Later kids!<strong>


	20. Making Up is Hard to Do

Chapter 20: Making Up is Hard to Do

**EPOV**

"So what was that about?" Sookie asked as we walked back toward my apartment.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing dumb.

"You and Pam looked like you were arguing about something," she said.

"Oh, that was nothing," I shrugged it off and tried not to think too much about the fact that I had just lied to Sookie.

I knew if I told her about what happened with Sophie, she would want to go back to the tattoo shop and let her have it. I couldn't blame her since I would probably want to beat the hell out of any guy that got gropey with Sookie, but given the way she had talked about Sophie already, I didn't want to fight. I wanted to enjoy the next few days without fighting or dealing with drama. I made the decision that I would deal with Sophie personally after I got back from California. This couldn't continue.

"How'd it go with Amelia?" I asked tentatively and Sookie shot daggers at me.

"So you _were_ in on that," she shook her head and I started to apologize, but she cut me off. "I'm a big girl, Eric. I don't need you playing matchmaker for me. When or if Amelia and I are going to work things out again, we'll do it on our own terms."

I nodded and said, "That's fine. Just for the record, that was Pam's idea. I was just sort of there."

"That isn't entirely true and you know it," Sookie argued.

"What's so wrong with wanting you to work out your issues with your friend? You're obviously unhappy about being in a fight with her. I know you aren't sleeping well because of it, so why be so damn stubborn about it?"

Sookie let go of my hand and I knew I was getting myself onto shit list territory. She stared up at me with a look of frustration and disbelief on her face. Her face was flushed, and I hoped it was from cold and not anger.

"Stay out of it, Eric! I don't go getting myself involved in your arguments with Stan, or anyone else. I'm a big girl; I can handle it myself. And if this is making me so unpleasant to be around then maybe I should just go home alone," she suggested and I groaned in response.

"Oh come on, Sookie, don't be like this," I nearly whined, "I don't want to fight with you."

"Then sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong was a really bad idea," Sookie turned to the right when we should have been going left.

"Where are you going?" I asked and Sookie just kept walking toward the L stop. Oh shit. "Sookie!"

She kept quiet and continued to walk toward the station. I followed behind her and caught her before she got to the stairs.

"Sookie, hang on," I said and she pulled her arm away from me.

"I'm mad at you, Eric, and I don't really want to be around you right now. I'm getting on the train and I don't want you to follow me," her voice was robotic and cold. Son of a bitch.

"I was just trying to help," I called after her but Sookie kept walking away from me.

Goddamn it.

I let her go and went to my apartment instead. I figured I would give her some time to cool off and then I'd just go over to her place as planned. We'd talk things out and everything would be okay. I got to my building just as Isabel was coming out with little Ethan hidden away in his stroller.

"Hey, Eric," Isabel smiled at me but I wasn't into smiling back.

"Hi. How are you?" I asked somewhat glumly.

"I'm doing alright. Are _you_ okay? You look like someone died," Isabel said and I hoped she was being dramatic.

"I got in a fight with Sookie," I explained and she nodded.

"I'm sure you'll work it out," she patted my arm.

While I appreciated the positive support, I always found it annoying when people said things like that. There weren't any guarantees. Isabel didn't even know what we had fought over. For all she knew I fucked another woman. Yeah, I was in a shit mood and I excused myself before I took it out on my unsuspecting neighbor.

My apartment was empty, something I usually enjoyed, but hated at the moment. Sookie was supposed to come back with me for a little while before going over to her house. This sucked. Why didn't I just tell Pam to stay out of it and mind her own business? I was assuming Sookie and Amelia didn't make up, or she wouldn't be so pissed off at me for interfering. And really, I hadn't even done anything. I just sat there. But it was my intent that mattered, and I had intended to try and get her to work things out if she tried to bolt.

Fuck my life.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I sat on the train with my ear buds firmly lodged in my ears. I didn't want to think about anything. I wanted to tune out the world and let my mind go blank. Eric's heart may have been in the right place but it wasn't his business to get involved.

I got back to my house to find a note from Claudine. She had taken off for vacation the day before. The dogs were kenneled, so I was really by myself. I considered packing a bag and heading up to my parents' house, but I didn't want to leave things the way they were with Eric before he went home. His offense wasn't breakup worthy, and I knew we would talk it out; I just wasn't in the mood to talk yet. What I needed was a hot shower and maybe a nap.

I went back to my bedroom, stripped off my clothes and went across the hall to start the water for my bath. With a towel wrapped around me, I grabbed my iPod and put it up on the dock in the loft. I started my Sigur Rós playlist and went back to the tub. 'Svefn-g-Englar' began to play and I knew it wouldn't take long for me to get sleepy. Sigur Rós was great for relaxing.

After adding a little lavender oil to the water, I let myself sink in it up to my chin. I dunked a washcloth under the water, wrung it out and then put it over my eyes. Between the water, music and soothing smell of lavender, I was so relaxed I nearly fell asleep in no time. I let myself float in the tub and enjoyed the weightless feeling that accompanied it.

My mind emptied and all I concentrated on was the music. I hummed along to the melody of 'Popplagið,' and let my toes wiggle to the beat when the percussion began to pick up speed during the second half of the song. Those five minutes were an air drummer's dream. I stayed in the tub until the water started to get cold.

My limbs felt like jelly when I tried to get up and it took a couple of tries before I could get my legs to cooperate. I got the water draining and then dried myself off with one of my fluffy oatmeal colored towels. With my robe wrapped tightly, I went out to the kitchen to turn down the music a little bit before returning to my bedroom. I lay down and snuggled against one of my pillows.

The faint scent of the aftershave Eric used once in a while clung to the pillowcase and I tried not to let that get to me. My eyes closed and I got back to that pleasant in between stage where I wasn't quite asleep, but I wasn't really awake anymore either. I found myself suddenly homesick, and longing for the comforting smells of a roaring fire and my mother's perfume. No matter what time of year it was, I always seemed to smell those things in my parents' house.

Darkness was coming much more quickly and by 5:00, the sky was almost as black as midnight. I wanted the longer days of summer back. It was too early to go to sleep for the night and it was too late to take a nap. I'd be up all night if I didn't get out of bed and find something to keep myself busy. If Eric hadn't stuck his nose in where it didn't belong, we would probably be starting on making dinner together.

With that in mind, I decided I was going to shake off my case of the Mopes, and get started on dinner myself. I was planning to just make spaghetti with delicious spinach pasta I had discovered, so the meal wouldn't be too labor intensive. I got a pot of water going for the pasta and then started working on my sauce. Adding thick cut bacon made all the difference. It wasn't a traditional red sauce, but it was damn tasty.

I changed playlists and opted for some upbeat 80's tunes instead, hoping the urge to dance would hit and it would help me shake off my bad mood. I was peeling the skins off of my blanched Roma tomatoes when there was a knock at my door. I could make out a large frame capped with blond hair, and as much as I wanted to be annoyed with Eric for following me after I told him not to, it also seemed stupid to keep punishing him. I rinsed my hands and went to the door.

I snickered when 'Missing You' came up on my shuffle, and threw the door open. Eric looked slightly pitiful standing there hunched over and holding a single rose. Yeah, I melted a little.

"I'm sorry I interfered. I should have stayed out of it," he said sincerely and I believed he was sorry.

"Apology accepted," I took the rose when he offered it to me, and sniffed the bloom. It was lovely, and would look beautiful on my night stand. "Do you want to come in?"

He nodded and then I threw myself at him. He caught me easily and the kisses that followed belonged in a box somewhere; I wanted to keep them forever. I knew fights were inevitable, but that didn't mean I had to like them. His fingers worked their way into my hair after gently loosening it from the knot it had been in all day.

I was tingling from my head to my toes, and it was only when I heard the bubble and sizzle of boiling water spilling over on the stove that I pulled away from him. Eric followed me over to the stove and it was obvious from the way he pressed against me that the days of make-up kisses alone were over. He wanted more and so did I, but it wasn't the right time and I didn't want the first time I had sex to be because of any apology. I didn't think Eric wanted that either.

I rubbed back but the way his hands tightened on my hips told me that as much as he liked what I was doing, I had to stop. I had an appointment to see my doctor on Friday so I could get on birth control. Eric and I had talked about sex and agreed on a lot of things. It seemed strange to have somewhat of a plan for it, but it also seemed necessary. I wasn't ready to go there quite yet but it was a topic we could revisit after Thanksgiving was over.

It dawned on me that we had only been together for about two months, but it felt longer. I had gotten to know him pretty well. I cared about him a lot. I was excited about being with him. Just hanging out together watching movies and cooking dinner together was fun. I'd never felt any of that pressure to try and fancy myself up for him. It felt like we just fit together. I'd never felt that with any of my exes.

"So what do you need me to do?" Eric's lips brushed my neck and I shivered.

"Mmm... you could finish peeling the tomatoes if you want," I suggested.

"I wasn't talking about that," his hands moved up my sides and I gasped.

I smiled, turned my head and said, "Dinner first, then dessert."

He growled at me, stole a kiss that almost made me reconsider my plan and then went to peel the tomatoes.

**oO ~ oOo ~ oOo**

The next night I slept over at Eric's place. It would be strange not hearing video or football games coming from the living room. We didn't have to worry about Stan walking in on us at any given moment. Eric took advantage of that the second I arrived. I didn't even get my coat off before he had me backed against the door.

Somehow my coat and winter gear disappeared. We ended up on the couch with Eric on top of me, trying to peel off my sweater. The look on his face when he realized I had a t-shirt on under it was priceless. Winter in the upper Midwest meant knowing the importance of layering one's clothing to keep warm.

"This is bullshit," Eric muttered when he got to the chemise under my t-shirt.

I couldn't help but laugh. Layering for a California boy was still a new thing. Temperatures where Eric was from rarely got lower than fifty degrees, so dealing with subzero winter was something new for him. My giggles only further frustrated him.

"This isn't funny," he grumbled and pouted.

"It is a little bit," I sobered a little when he pulled at the cups of my bra, "just think of it like unwrapping a present and it won't seem so bad."

Eric smirked at my analogy and then got himself reacquainted with the girls, as if he hadn't spent plenty of quality time with them the night before. I stopped him short of third base. I knew he would be a little frustrated with me for it, but I had something I needed to talk to him about and it was already getting late.

"Hey, hang on," I grabbed his face and stopped him from kissing any lower on my hip.

"What?" he looked at me with hooded eyes and flushed cheeks.

"I want to talk to you about something," I said and Eric resting his chin on my hip.

With his eyes glancing back and forth from my bare breasts to my eyes, he grinned and said, "You have my full attention." His eyebrows wiggled. Of course being half naked would get his attention. The ways in which Eric could be a typical guy were comical sometimes.

"I got a voicemail from my Mom today. She and Dad are going to Louisiana for the New Year. So I was wondering if maybe you would want to go up there with me." I nibbled my bottom lip nervously.

Eric smiled thoughtfully and said, "Yeah, I think that would be fun. I've never been to Wisconsin before."

"Then you are in for a treat," I smirked and rubbed his cheek.

"Why's that?"

"You'll find out," I laughed but when I tried to sit up, Eric wasn't having any of that.

We ended up wrestling around until Eric fell off the couch and took me down with him. I somehow ended up being pinned under him again. He refused to let me up until I explained myself.

"It's just really quiet and really cold, mostly. My family owns a pretty big chunk of land. It's all woods and so we've got all of these trails for the four-wheelers and stuff. Both Jason and Gran have a house on the property, and if I want to, I can build my own place up there," I explained and Eric's eyes went wide.

"Isn't everyone on top of each other then?" Eric lifted an eyebrow.

"Nope, not even close," I shook my head, "Gran's place is a little more than a quarter mile southeast of my parents' place. Jason's house is across the pond from Gran's. I would probably build either west of Gran, or maybe farther back on the northwest section of the property. The county just repaved the road up there so it would be easy to trail in from the road if I built back there."

"You've thought about it?" Eric asked while I reached for my t-shirt.

"Of course I've thought about. I don't know if I would do it, but I've thought about it," I pulled my t-shirt down over my head.

"That's a lot of land your parents own," he handed me my sweater just in case I wanted it.

"It's a couple hundred acres," I said and his jaw dropped.

"That's a lot of lawn to mow," he joked and I laughed again.

"Well like I said, most of it is woods. You'll see when we get there. The house is set back almost a half a mile from the road. There's a trail that goes my from my parents' house to get to Gran's and Jason's. Getting my license wasn't that big of a deal for me when I turned sixteen since I'd been driving four-wheelers and ATVs since I was about ten. All three of the houses are completely separate from one another and have plenty of space between them. It's still kind of crazy, though," I admitted and Eric nodded along.

No doubt if Aunt Linda wasn't living in Louisiana to be closer to Hadley, she would be living on the property, too. The fact that my whole family could live on the land without bumping into each other if we didn't want to was kind of cool. We were all coming and going from one house or another all the time. I think I spent as much time at Gran's as I did my own house when I was a kid.

"What about your grandparents?" I asked Eric.

"They all live in the same town in Missouri. None of them own the kind of land your family does, though. My Dad's parents own about eighteen acres, which is a pretty sizable chunk of land," Eric said and I nodded my agreement. "My Grandma Charlotte has a small vegetable patch she's been growing for decades, but otherwise they aren't farmers. My Mom's parents, on the other hand, raise chickens."

I chortled at the idea of Eric on a farm and told him so. "I don't know if I could imagine you on a farm for an extended period of time," I pulled my knees to my chest.

"Likewise," he laughed and nudged me playfully with his elbow.

"Oh, you'd be surprised by how country I can get."

"Oh really?"

"Dad was talking about blowing up beaver dams this week," I beamed like a crazy person.

"Seriously?"

"Why would I make that up?" I cackled with laughter, and sank over toward him.

"Why would you do that?" Eric shook his head.

"Because, City Boy," I poked his ribs, "it's to keep the creeks from being clogged up. Come spring we're going to have a lot to thaw and that's _before_ twenty feet of snow gets dumped on top of it. So we need the water to freeze as evenly as possible so we don't end up with a flood situation when it all started to melt," I explained, and Eric looked at me funny. "What?"

"I just never would have thought you would be into that sort of thing," he shook his head.

"I'm not really _into_ it, but it has to be done," I shrugged, "now four-wheeling and firing potato guns is another story."

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I woke up to find Sookie already out of bed and the smell of bacon in the air. The shower was running but I didn't get in there with her. I couldn't afford to miss might flight and we would lose track of time if we started fooling around. Lost time equaled missing my flight and that was no good. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to find the makings for breakfast burritos on the counter.

Did I hit the awesome girlfriend jackpot or what?

I made myself a burrito and then called the airline to make sure my flight was still leaving on time. There wasn't any bad weather forecasted for Chicago, but that didn't mean anything. Meteorologists were rarely right in this city. It was annoying. Especially since the city became a giant wind tunnel on windy days. Throw in all that "lake effect" bullshit and I never know what was going on. Per the folks at United, my flight would be departing on time.

I was working on burrito number two when Sookie came out to the kitchen. Her hair was still wrapped in a towel and she only had her first layer of clothing on, but she paused to kiss my cheek before going on to the coffee maker to refill her mug.

"Morning, sunshine," she said as she poured her coffee.

"Good morning. What time were you up that you had time to do this?" I gestured to the burrito fixings.

"It wasn't that early," she shrugged and added a butt load of sugar to her coffee as she spoke, "besides, it's not like I was going to let you live on airplane food."

The food snob in her shivered at the idea of such a thing. I wasn't complaining about her taking care of me. It was nice to know she cared enough to do such a thing. I smiled to myself at the thought of what Grandma Charlotte was going to have to say about Sookie. Granny, as we called her because it drove her nuts, wasn't your typical old lady. She had a bit of Betty White in her. She was the sort who looked sweet and quiet, but then she'd toss out a question that would make your brows knit and your stomach drop. Granny was awesome.

Meeting Granny would be the real test for Sookie, as far as my family was concerned. Not everyone could handle the blunt manner in which she dealt with things sometimes. I should also clarify that by 'blunt,' I mean 'vulgar." Although, in Granny's defense, she didn't do it to be offensive to anyone. She was unpredictable but she meant well.

I was excited about going up to Wisconsin. The closest I had been was a trip up to Great America up in Gurnee, but that was still in Illinois. I knew from what Sookie had told me we were facing somewhere between a four and five hour drive, depending on the number of stops we made and how bad traffic was that day. If it was snowing, it would take forever to get there. Sookie's car was sweet and all, but it wasn't really designed for driving in the snow.

We would, however, have access to her mother's SUV since her parents would be out of town, so we wouldn't housebound if it snowed. The local gas station and grocery store were close enough that we could reach it by four-wheeler if we had to, and it wasn't unusual to see vehicles like those parked outside either place in the wintertime. I was, however, concerned I wouldn't be able to dress accordingly, since I didn't really have all the appropriate winter gear, but Sookie had assured me I would be fine.

If nothing else, it would be one hell of an experience and I trusted Sookie to make sure I didn't freeze to death up there. My California blood wasn't used to subzero temperatures and building snowmen. I did, however, like the idea of spending a few days snuggled with her in front of a fireplace. I was pretty sure I'd like that portion of the trip.

Sookie sat down next to me with a burrito of her own while I was contemplating making myself a third. I decided it was probably better not to, and instead got started on cleaning up the kitchen. Sookie always seemed surprised when I did that, but a lifetime of learned behavior isn't something that just goes away. Besides, I wasn't all that crazy about living in filth and I didn't expect Sookie to clean up after me. I was a grown up, perfectly capable of cleaning my own kitchen at any given time. Just because Stan was a slob didn't mean I had to be, too.

I managed to get what I needed into just a carry-on bag, since I still had clothes back home at my parents' house. My old room was the same as I had left it, but I knew after graduation all of that would change. Mom and Dad were talking about selling the house after Amber graduated from high school. By then I would be into my mid-twenties, Lacey would probably be married, and as far as we all knew Amber was planning on enlisting in the Marines. There was no reason for my parents to keep such a big house for just the two of them.

They weren't that old, but eventually the stairs would become an issue and since none of us kids could guarantee we would remain in California, it didn't make a whole lot of sense for them to stay so isolated and in a house that was too big for them. They were talking about moving back to Missouri to be closer to their families, which wasn't such a bad idea. They could have a decent size house in that little town for much less than what they had paid for the house in California. It was a shame the real estate market was currently in the shitter.

I got my things together and we were able to walk out the door promptly at 8:30, just as we had planned. It had snowed a little overnight so there were flurries on the windshield of Sookie's car, but there was no major accumulation. Being that it was a Tuesday morning I figured traffic would probably be a little heavy on the expressway, but I wasn't prepared for the parking lot it was. Thank God we'd left early.

With all the security checks and restrictions for flying, I knew I was supposed to be at the airport at least three hours early. Given that I was flying out so close to a holiday, I'd tacked on another hour to that for waiting in lines. I figured if I had to, I could walk around the terminal until it was time to board my plane. Sookie had the oldies station on and we ended up screeching a very bad duet of 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' together. It helped pass the time.

I could tell Sookie was nervous about getting me to the airport on time. More than once she said, "Maybe we should have just taken the blue line in. This was a bad idea."

Yeah, we could have taken the train all the way to O'Hare, but I didn't want to spend my last few minutes with her packed into an L car like a sardine with God knows who else rubbing up on her like a cat toy. I had faith that we would make it to the airport in time, even if it meant I had to haul ass to get where I needed to be. I grabbed Sookie's hand and kissed her knuckles in reassurance.

"Don't worry, Sookie, I'll get there. It's going to be fine," I promised her, even though I had no way of making good on that promise.

"If you miss your flight your parents will never forgive me for it," Sookie's brows knit.

"If I miss my flight my parents won't blame anyone but me, believe me," I snickered.

"Yeah, but I don't want them thinking it was on purpose because you have some clingy ass girlfriend who can't let you out of her sight for four days," Sookie pouted.

"They wouldn't think that. They would think I was a horny bastard who couldn't keep my hands to myself, and couldn't stand the thought of not pouncing on my super-hot girlfriend for four days," I corrected her and she smiled.

"Well, they wouldn't be wrong," she snorted and I dove across the seat to plant kisses all over her neck.

She giggled and tried to fight me off while keeping her foot firmly planted on the brake. The honk of a horn behind us alerted us to the fact that traffic was moving. By moving, I mean creeping forward a whole ten feet before coming to a stop again. We went on like that, moving ten feet at a time, until finally getting past the 90/94 split, and the traffic lightened up. We actually got to do the speed limit for a little while until the traffic for O'Hare started to pile up on the 190 turn off.

Traffic was moving at a snail's pace, but at least it was going. I imagined anyone going through the airport the next day would be completely fucked. All of a sudden we were at Terminal 1 and Sookie was pulling over for the United Airlines departures. She got out of the car with me, which was brave of her considering merging back into traffic was going to be somewhat of a nightmare. There were hundreds of people getting out of cabs or the cars of friends, all of them headed to wherever they were going just like I was. My carry-on contained my laptop, iPod, a change of clothes just in case I needed them for one reason or another, and a couple of books I needed to read for school.

"Call me when you land, okay?" Sookie squeezed my hand.

"Definitely. I'll probably call you six times a day and I'm not even sorry," I warned her and she laughed.

"Well, cell phone reception up at my parents' place can be kind of iffy, but I'll text you the house number. I'm sure my mother is _dying_ to talk to you," she looked up at me with sad eyes.

I just hoped she didn't cry. If she cried, I was fucked.

"You aren't going to cry, are you?" I asked her and she rolled her eyes.

"It's cold out here, jerk," she stuck her tongue out at me and I pulled her into a hug.

"I'm going to miss you too, Sookie," I kissed the top of her head.

"That better not have been your goodbye kiss," she looked up at me with pleading eyes and I smiled at her.

My hands slipped into her hair and I kissed her softly. I hoped she knew from that kiss that I loved her, but just in case she didn't, I told her anyway. "I kinda love you, Stackhouse. I'll see you Saturday."

She nodded and then took the initiative to lay a kiss on me that I would probably still feel when I was sitting in my seat on the plane. She hadn't been able to say the words that she loved me, but I felt it in the way she kissed me. It had changed in the last couple of days. Something inside her had shifted; she just didn't seem to be aware of it yet. But I knew, and that was the important thing.

With one last kiss to her forehead, I let her go and walked into the airport.

* * *

><p><strong>I feel the need to tell you that the scene with Eric removing Sookie's various layers of clothing is one of Scribeninja's favorites from the story so far. California boy isn't quite used to the winter weather yet, and he's definitely not used to having to remove so much clothing to get his girl topless. Poor nerd. As for why he didn't tell Sookie about Sophie, I God's honest don't know what he's waiting for. The entire time I was writing this chapter I was like, 'Uh, dude, you need to 'fess up and tell her what happened before she finds out from someone else.' He just kept giving me side eyes. I don't know what that's about. Feel free to yell at him in reviews because I kinda want to kick him myself for this. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	21. California Bound

Chapter 21: California Bound

**SPOV**

I told myself that I was tearing up because of the cold wind but that wasn't entirely true. I was going to miss Eric and I knew he was going to miss me just as much. I pushed all that away and refused to let myself get too caught up in it. He would be back on Saturday, which wasn't that far away. I could handle being apart from him for just a couple of days. I really wasn't that clingy girlfriend I had pontificated about.

I got off the highway at North Avenue and decided to swing by Goblins to pick up a cup of coffee before going home. I found a place to park around the corner and then walked over to the coffee shop. Godric waved at me from inside the tattoo place and I wasn't the least bit surprised when he ended up walking into Goblins behind me.

"How's the tattoo doing?" he asked while brushing tiny snowflakes off of his arms. He wasn't wearing a coat, crazy man.

"Doing very well, thank you. It's all healed, as far as I can tell. The itching stopped about a week ago," I told him and he nodded his approval.

"That's good. Glad it's doing well. Where's that tree of a boyfriend?" he smirked.

"Waiting to get on a plane home. He'll be gone until Saturday," I frowned.

"Aww poor girl," Godric wrapped an arm around me. "Aren't you going home for the holiday?"

"Yeah, I was planning to drive up tomorrow but I think I might leave this afternoon instead. There isn't much of a reason to stick around. Claudine and the dogs are gone, so I might as well get going," I shrugged.

Amelia was behind the counter, fixing lattes for the couple of people waiting off to the side. I was pretty sure she was listening to a Brian Setzer Christmas. I was more interested in classics myself. Give me Nat King Cole, Brenda Lee and Burl Ives any day of the week over Brian Setzer. Then again, I was in love with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's version of Carol of the Bells, so I guess I didn't mind the modern stuff too much either.

Godric broke away from me and headed over to the counter when Amelia finished with the batch of lattes she had been working on. She smiled when she saw him, but her smile faded when she saw me standing a few feet behind him. I wanted to roll my eyes at her, but restrained myself from doing so. We were already fighting over stupid shit, and I didn't need to make it worse. Getting into a fight with my boyfriend because of her really ticked me off.

"Uh oh, are you two having a tiff?" Godric looked back and forth between us.

"Sookie's being stubborn," Amelia said, and even though she wasn't entirely wrong, I didn't like that she was trying to put it all off on me.

"Amelia was being an inappropriate twat," I fired back and she stared daggers at me.

"And that sounds like my cue to stay the fuck out of it," Godric sidestepped out of the way.

"I apologized and for what?" Amelia stared at me with her hands on her hips and a glaring pout on her face.

"Just because you apologized doesn't mean I have to forgive you right away, Amelia. If I humiliated you in front of Pam like you did to me, you wouldn't forgive me so easily," I pointed out, and she knew I was right.

The problem with Amelia is that she wasn't used to someone telling her when she was being a bitch. She was used to getting her way, whether that meant begging or having a fit until she got what she wanted. My parents didn't tolerate whining and they had always called Jason and me on our bullshit when we got out of line. It was second nature to me, whereas Amelia was used to people cowering to her will. No one did her any favors by not telling her she was a pain in the ass.

"Well what do you want me to do, Sookie? I can't take it back; I can't change it. I'm sorry I offended you. How many times do I have to apologize before you let it go?" Amelia threw her hands up in the air and stormed off to the kitchen.

Great.

I shrugged off my coat and hung it off the back of a chair. I went around the counter and started making Godric's chai tea latte.

"You should go talk to her," he suggested.

"Uh, no, I'm going to give her a minute to calm her tits before I go back there," I said and started on my usual drink.

Godric looked like he wanted to say something but he kept it to himself. It was probably better that he did since I already had Pam and Eric ready to throw in their own two cents' worth. Eric and I had made up after what happened on Sunday, but we had discussed it at length. I explained why I was so burned by what Amelia had done. It wasn't so much that it was a secret that I was a virgin. Frankly, even though it wasn't anyone's business, I wasn't afraid of admitting it when asked about it.

I didn't see anything wrong with the choice I made and I wasn't ashamed of it. What bothered me was how she was willing to use that to embarrass me for entertainment's sake. I didn't tease her about the number of people she'd slept with, and it wasn't exactly a low number. But it wasn't my place to judge her for it and it felt like, all of a sudden, she was judging me. That was a problem.

I handed over Godric's latte and finished up my own. A customer came in and before he could even ask for his usual, I started working on it. Amelia came out of the kitchen with red-rimmed eyes and tear tracks on her face. I felt like shit for making her cry. We needed to get this all sorted out.

"I'm sorry I made you cry," I apologized.

Amelia sniffled and started to fix herself some tea. She turned to me while her water was heating and said, "I don't know what else to do, Sookie. What do you want from me?"

I took a deep breath and said, "I want you to think about what you're saying before you say it. There's a time and a place for you to be as wonderfully random and colorful as you are, but dinner with my boyfriend wasn't it. You took something that is very personal to me and you just threw it out there for anyone to examine. It felt like you were making fun of me and I don't want to be the butt of your jokes. I don't want you to tell me you think I'm making a good decision when we're alone, but then mocking that choice when we're in front of other people. No one wants to feel judged, especially by their friends. "

"I wasn't judging you, Sookie," Amelia argued. "I said what I said because I thought it was funny. I didn't think you would care because you've always been so open about it."

"Open with you, yes, but that doesn't mean I want to be the goddamn poster child for abstinence!" I shouldn't have shouted that, but I was ticked off.

Just about everyone in Goblins looked over at the counter, but I ignored it. I didn't want to cause a scene but we couldn't leave the counter unattended. I lowered my voice and continued my point.

"Look, Amelia, the real issue here isn't what you said. What bothers me is that you have this way of saying whatever comes to mind without considering how it's going to come off to other people. I know you're not used to people telling you to cut the shit when you're being a jerk, but that's what friends are supposed to do. And if you do something that hurts me, I have every right to tell you that you're being an asshole," I told her.

"You think I'm an asshole?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Ugh! God, Amelia, _listen_ to me! Do you always hear what you want to hear and not what you're being told?" I shook my head.

"I hear you telling me that you're taking it upon yourself to play morals police like you're my mother. I am who I am, Sookie, and I don't have to explain myself to you," Amelia said defensively.

"You don't get it," I sighed and walked out from behind the counter.

I put my coat back on and buttoned up. Amelia didn't try to stop me when I walked out the door, and it was probably for the better since we probably would have ended up in a cat fight. I took my coffee back to my car and headed to my house to pack up. I was going home to Wisconsin early.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

The second I got off the plane, everything felt different. The air smelled like home, and I was glad I hadn't bothered to take my coat with me. The average temperature at that time of year was in the mid-sixties but it was close to eighty outside. It was a lovely welcome home for me.

Dad and Amber were waiting for me at the arrivals area. My youngest sister, not really known for being all that affectionate, ran at me and gave me a big hug. I hadn't seen her since August and I was pretty sure she'd grown about six inches since then. Jesus. Since Amber was so much younger than me, I was especially protective of her. It was funny since she was the one who definitely didn't need it.

Amber had a good head on her shoulders—at least it seemed like she did so far. She'd cut her hair short so that it was chin length, which was a big change from having her hair almost to her waist over the summer. She was dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and one of Dad's old Marine Corps. T-shirts. Lacey was probably somewhere feverishly painting her nails to compensate for Amber's lack of femininity.

"Missed you too, Amber," I hugged her back.

"I am so flippin' glad you're here! Lacey is driving me up the damn wall," Amber groaned. She had sent me a few emails over the last couple of weeks, detailing what a pain in the ass our spoiled middle sister was. I tried to stay out of the shit.

"You can tell me about it after I go say hi to Dad, okay?" I patted her back and she let me go.

For as anti-girlie as she was most of the time, Amber definitely had a little chatty Cathy in her. Once she got going, it was hard to shut her up. I went over and gave Dad a hug hello, and after confirming my flight had gone okay we headed out.

"No bags?" Dad lifted an eyebrow.

"No need. I have clothes at home so I just brought some of my homework with me."

"Good deal," Dad led us out of the terminal and out to the parking lot.

The sunshine felt fucking amazing when I stepped outside. There was no humidity overpowering me, threatening to choke me out the way it was in Chicago in the summertime. Even in the smack dab middle of summer, I never felt humidity like that and I was right near the Pacific.

We made our way to Dad's truck and Amber climbed into the back of the cab since there was no way in hell I was going to fit back there. Hell, even Amber was close to being too tall to squeeze in, but she was definitely more limber than I was. She moved with the grace of a gymnast, and fitted herself into the back seat. She even reached for my carry-on bag to put back there with her. Thank God, because there was no way in hell my laptop was going in the truck bed; it would be ruined by the time we got back to the house.

I had flown into LAX, so we had about a two hour drive down to Oceanside. Dad was making the drive for the second day in a row since he had gone up the day before to pick up my grandparents. They didn't usually come out for Thanksgiving since my father was the oldest of six kids, four of whom had remained in Missouri and had families of their own for my grandparents to visit with. With Dad not making a whole lot of money in the Corps, and the unpredictability of his schedule, traveling out to Missouri wasn't possible for us every fall.

I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief when we got off the 405, since that meant we were half way back. We weren't on the 5 for very long when I was able to see the ocean. It was good to be home. Amber didn't say much about Lacey with Dad around, but that didn't surprise me. Dad and Amber were close, but he tried to stay out of their girl drama as much as possible. I let myself get sucked into it only because it gave me something to talk to Amber about. I loved my sister, but we didn't have a whole heck of a lot in common.

"Oh, so there's something else I have to tell you," Amber leaned in between my seat and Dad's.

"What's that?" I asked, turning my head toward her.

"You remember Dawn, right?" she asked as if I could forget.

Hell, it would probably be better if I could. I had dated Dawn Green back in high school. I was never in love with her. Falling for Sookie had proven that to me. I'd liked Dawn a lot and for a while I'd thought maybe there was a chance she was the one. I was pretty upfront with her about my feelings when it came to sex, and she had thought I was using it as a line. When she realized I was serious, she said she was okay with it. She didn't mind that I wanted to wait. The problem, I discovered, was what while I was waiting, she was getting it from someone else.

Living so close to a Marine base meant there was no shortage of willing, horny guys trolling around for willing, horny girls. I felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. I have no idea how many other guys there were, but I suppose that didn't really matter. One was too many, and as soon as I found out she had been with someone else, I dumped her. She blamed it all on me, telling me that she was a "sexual being who needed love and affection."

From that moment on she was free to get it from whoever would give it to her; it wouldn't be me. I tried not to take it personally but it was hard not to. The whole thing had me reconsidering whether or not I was doing the right thing. Was I opening myself up to being cheated on by every woman I dated simply because I wasn't willing to have sex with them right away?

"Yeah, I remember Dawn. What about her?" I asked, wondering how Amber even remembered her.

"I'm in the same class as her little brother," she said as if she was reading my mind. "Dawn got married last weekend. She got knocked up by some Marine about to ship off for Iraq."

"Good for her," I didn't really care. I didn't have a reaction. "I hope things work out for her."

I looked over at Dad who was shaking his head. After Dawn and I broke up he had told me to shake it off. He figured I deserved better, and he was right about that. Of course, at the time, I didn't really see it that way. I was too busy blaming myself to see that it wasn't my fault she was a cheating slut.

"So tell me about this new girl," Dad said with a smile and I was glad he'd changed the subject. I didn't want to talk about Dawn. She was in the past and there was no reason to rehash the things I couldn't change. It was over and done with.

"Her name is Sookie. She's from a small town up in central Wisconsin…" I started and continued to ramble of the pertinent facts my family needed to know.

"Sounds like a nice girl," Dad said with a nod.

"Got a picture of her?" Amber asked.

I dug my phone out of my pocket and realized I hadn't called Sookie when I landed. Shit. I decided I'd call her when I got to the house. I turned my phone on and there was a picture of the two of us set as my wallpaper.

"She's your wallpaper?" Amber rolled her eyes at me and Dad chuckled.

"She's fun to look at," I argued and Dad laughed louder.

"That's my boy," he clapped my shoulder.

I found a better picture of Sookie in my gallery and handed my phone to Amber. She studied the picture closely for a few moments before shrugging and saying, "She's pretty."

"Let me see that," Dad held up his hand and Amber gave him the phone. Dad looked away from the road for a moment and looked at Sookie. "That's a pretty dairy maid you got there, boy."

I laughed and shook my head. "She's not a dairy maid, Dad."

"Comes from Wisconsin; she's a dairy maid," Dad insisted but I knew he didn't mean it offensively. He was also trying to get a rise out of Amber in the back, who would go off on diatribes about the oppression of women as if she knew what that truly meant.

She had done that in front of Granny once and that was a mistake. If I remember correctly, Granny told her, "Little girl, you ain't even gettin' your monthly yet and already you're calling for equality in the workplace and longer maternity leave. Let the hair on your legs grow in before you start spoutin' off on the difficulties of being a woman."

Since I had no idea how difficult it was to be female, I didn't have an opinion. All I knew was that Amber had shut up for a few minutes, giving us all a reprieve from her preferred topic. Where she got all that feminist stuff from I had no idea. Mom wasn't like that at all, so it didn't come from her. I figured it was probably something to do with Lacey, who would be perfectly content to be someone's trophy wife someday. Lacey wasn't exactly known for having lofty aspirations or any significant life goals.

Mom had chosen to stay home and raise her kids, but she wasn't sitting on her ass watching talk shows and eating chocolates all day. She had volunteered at our school to help with various projects, attended every field trip she could, and baked more pastries for our bake sales than any other mother in the school. She also belonged to a book club with some of the other Marine wives in our neighborhood, and because they all had husbands in the same profession as Dad, it was like we had become family.

More often than not, when Dad was deployed, so were they. The wives waited together, all of them praying for the safe return of their husbands. The first military funeral I went to was for a neighbor of ours down the street. He was killed in Croatia during the conflict going on there. His daughter was in my class at school, but I had gone because Dad thought it was important for me to see the way the fallen were honored.

By the time I had graduated from high school I'd been to way more funerals than I ever wanted to go to in my life. I wasn't close friends with most of the Marines that died, but my father was. Staying in a Marine heavy community meant that even if you weren't close friends with the person who died, you went to the funeral as a show of support for the family. I couldn't even tell you how many casseroles Mom had made because of them.

"I'm just glad she's not some whiskey tango nightmare. So when do we get to meet this girlfriend of yours? Is it serious?" Dad asked.

"I don't know if it's serious. We haven't really talked about it. Things have just kinda fallen into place with us. We're not seeing anyone but each other, but aside from that, we don't really have anything set in stone. But it's going pretty good. Sookie asked me to go up to her parents' house with her for the New Year. I was thinking maybe we'd come out here for spring break if we can. Otherwise, I'd have her come out next summer."

"Mama Bear has been trying to think of ways to get her out here sooner. She said you sounded pretty crazy about Sookie," Dad told me.

"I am pretty crazy about her," I agreed and got Amber making kissy noises in response behind me. "Shut it, Grunt."

Amber punched my arm. She hated it when anyone called her that, unless it was Dad. Lucky for her we were in the truck or she would have gotten tackled for it. Amber was actually kind of fun to play wrestle with, as long as she didn't go landing any cheap shots. I always checked my strength and was careful not to hurt her. We didn't do it to hurt each other. Dad would have kicked my ass if I did that.

I was rubbing my shoulder when Amber caught sight of my most recent tattoo. "What is that on your arm?" she pointed.

"It's my owl," I pulled my sleeve up to reveal what I could of it to her, since the eyes were on the inner part of my arm.

"That is so fu—I mean, awesome," Amber caught herself before she cussed in front of Dad.

You can take the Dad out of the Marines, but you can take the Marine out of the Dad, and our father had the mouth to prove it. He tried not to do it in front of us kids, but the man could cuss a blue streak when he wanted to. As a result, all of us kids were not only versed in the usual cuss words, but in Jarhead jargon as well. We had to get a little creative and invent some of our own terminology to keep from getting discovered, and subsequently whooped on, when we wanted to get colorful with our words.

"I'm getting a tattoo on my eighteenth birthday. Dad's going with me," Amber said with a big grin on her face.

"No tramp stamps," Dad and I said simultaneously and Amber rolled her eyes.

"Heck no! Those are just gross. I see those on the beach all the time and they're totally FUBAR'd," Amber shook her head.

"Amber…" Dad shook his head.

"What? Mom said I could use that!"

"I know you want to be a Marine, but you aren't yet, so cool it with the slang. That's an order, Grunt," Dad winked at her in the rearview mirror as he pulled into the driveway.

I was home.

* * *

><p><strong>I feel as if I should warn you now that Eric's Granny will be in the next chapter, and when I wrote her I had Betty White in mind. She's a pistol. If you are the proud owner of a tramp stampho tag, I meant no offense by the commentary above. My personal feeling is that they're tacky, but that's just _my_ opinion. I added that in there because every father I know always winces at the idea of his baby girl ending up with one of those. I would imagine protective big brothers feel the same way, even if they think they look hot on random girls. It's a guy thing, I guess *shrugs* Thanks for reading!**


	22. Siblings

Chapter 22: Siblings

**EPOV**

"I promised Sookie I'd call when I landed so I'll be in in a minute," I promised Dad when I hung back near the truck.

"Make it quick. You know Mama Bear will come looking for you if you take too long, and then she'll want to talk to your Delta Mike," Dad smirked at me.

"No, Dad, we're not calling her that," I shook my head. Fucking Marine alphabet.

"I think I can have you out voted," Dad grinned and looked to Amber. "What do you say, Grunt?"

"Delta Mike it is," she nodded definitively, almost always willing to side with our father. How was it possible to be a suck up and a traitor at the same time?

"You guys suck," I dialed Sookie's number.

They were still barking laughs as they walked into the house and Sookie picked up on her end. "Hey, you landed! How was your flight?"

"The flight was fine. I landed a while ago, but my Dad and my sister were there to pick me up and I didn't want you to be subjected to them mocking me the whole time," I explained to her.

"Aww, but that's what families do! Believe me; my brother has made his fair share of sex noises behind me while I was on the phone with a boyfriend."

"That's… that's kind of gross," I cringed.

"That's Jason," she sighed, "so guess where I am right now?"

I smirked and turned away from the house—not like anyone could see me where I was standing on the driveway. "Well, I know it's not naked in my bed."

There was a pause and then Sookie said, "Well, this is awkward…"

I laughed, knowing she was kidding. I didn't believe for a single second that Sookie had it in her to cheat, much less would she be low enough to use my own bed against me.

"Very funny. You should know my father plans on calling you Delta Mike," I told her.

"What? Why would he call me that?" Sookie laughed and I explained it to her. "Oh, well when you put it that way, it's kind of cool. Definitely a unique nickname."

Yeah, that was putting it lightly. I wasn't crazy about the nickname but as long as it didn't bother Sookie, I'd leave it alone. She told me about the fight she'd gotten in with Amelia and it seemed they were in an even deeper hole than they had been in after our ruined date night with them. I felt bad for Sookie and felt even worse for interfering after hearing what her real problems with Amelia were. I wouldn't want a friend like that around me either.

"So, since I'm all by myself I figured I'd just head up north tonight. I should be home in about ten minutes," Sookie told me.

It was 3:30 in California so it was 5:30 where she was. I was going to have to keep that time difference in mind when I called her at night. Sookie was usually a night owl but she also lived alone. I didn't want to risk calling and waking everyone else in her house.

"You'll still be back on Saturday, right?" I asked since I would have to make alternative plans coming back if she wasn't planning to pick me up.

"Yessir. I plan on spending the bulk of my evening kissing you silly," she told me and I was totally on board with that plan.

"I like that plan," I told her, "but I might be able to improve upon it."

"Don't get greedy," she warned.

We made a few more minutes of small talk since neither of us really wanted to get off the phone quite yet. I knew, however, that my mother would get impatient and come looking for me. If she didn't, Granny would, and then Sookie would really be in for it.

"I don't really want to hang up but I should get inside before a search party comes looking for me," I said reluctantly.

"It's okay. I should get off the phone too. I'm getting off the highway and those thirteen cars down below tell me traffic is heavy tonight," she said sarcastically. "I'll call you before I pass out for the night."

"You better. I love you, Sookie."

She blew kisses at me and hung up. I went inside to hear Granny Charlotte cackling about something. I went upstairs and put my bag in my old bedroom. Everything was the way I had left it in August. My bed was made to military specifications, the windows were spotless and there wasn't any dust on my desk, dresser or bookshelves.

My walls were painted the color of sand, and my bedspread was various shades of blue. I had my surf board in the corner at one point, but it had since found a home in the garage. I looked out the window to see my sister Lacey in the pool with some scrawny guy who was all hands and hair. It was only a matter of time until Dad caught them.

In the meantime I went downstairs to say hello to Mom and my grandparents. I was pretty sure Pops would be in the garage, fiddling around at Dad's workbench. Pops was a contractor by trade, so having five sons helped to keep the business going. Pops technically retired when he turned sixty-five, but he was still at the office more often than not. My uncles Jim and Bobby were running the business in his place.

"Mama Bear!" I shouted as I headed for the kitchen.

"In here, Roo!" she called back and I cringed a little at the use of a nickname I'd had since I was a baby. Mom didn't call me that in public anymore, thank God. Once on my third grade field trip to the La Brea Tar Pits was bad enough.

I found Mom at the kitchen table with Granny, both of them peeling, coring and slicing apples for Granny's taffy apple pies. Sookie would freak out if she got her hands on that recipe. No one but Granny knew exactly what was in that pie. It was a secret recipe that had been handed down from my great great grandmother. As far as I knew the recipe wasn't even written down somewhere. If Granny died, or finally lost her marbles, the pie was going with her.

"Good God almighty, you're thin, Eric! You don't have one of those eating disorders, do you?" Granny asked when I hugged her. "If you aren't careful, you're gonna end up looking like one of those metrosexuals I keep hearing about."

Granny needed to stop watching E!

"Charlotte, he looks just fine," Mom said dismissively and stood up to give me a hug.

"Thanks, Mom," I lifted her off the floor, which was easily done. Mom was all of five foot six, and _maybe_ 120 pounds. If anyone needed to gain weight, it was her. She looked good though. Mom didn't believe in hiding her age. Unlike a lot of women she didn't bother dying her hair, and she thought Botox was evil. Mom believed in eating well, drinking a lot of water, and getting plenty of sleep and exercise.

"I'm just concerned is all," Granny winked at me.

"I've actually gained weight in the last two months. My girlfriend is a culinary student so I end up taste testing a lot of things for her."

"If she ever needs help roasting an asshole, you give her my number," Granny said like she was offering solid advice.

"She's a cook, not a comedian, Granny," I shook my head.

"My hearing is just fine," she said as she peeled another apple.

Mom sighed and asked, "Where's your father?" Her eyes were focused on the pool outside.

"The garage? I have no idea. He came with Amber before me."

"Shit," Mom muttered and I craned my neck in time to see my sister get felt up.

Oh hell no.

I was on my feet and out the sliding door before Mom could stop me. Lacey wasn't really known for common sense. She didn't really think things through before she did them. Everyone had assumed it was just a ditzy phase she would outgrow, but at seventeen it was starting to look more and more like she was just one of those people who was always going to make decisions that other would scoff at.

"Hands off my sister," I stared down at the punk in the pool.

"Eric!" Lacey whined.

"Can it, Lo. Just be grateful Dad's in the garage with Pops," I folded my arms over my chest.

"Lo?" The punk looked curiously at Lacey. "I thought your name was Lacey?"

Seriously?

"It is, Josh," she swam over to the ladder and got out of the pool, "and you, Daddy knows about Josh, so there."

"You think Dad's going to watch you get molested by some whiskey tango-"

"Don't even go there! God, you sound like Dad and Amber!" Lacey wrapped herself in a towel.

"Babe, what about swimming?" Josh stayed in the pool.

"You should probably go, Josh," Lacey sighed.

"Josh? Is this the Josh I've been hearing about?" I snickered, thinking about the emails Amber had sent me.

"Don't believe everything Amber tells you," Lacey narrowed her eyes at me.

"Then why not finish your swim with Josh?" I suggested.

"Yeah, baby, come on! Who knows how many righteous pool days we have left?" Josh sounded like some late eighties surfer, or like maybe one of those ninja turtles I loved as a kid.

Thankfully, Dad and Pops came outside. Pops was carrying a mallet and Dad… well; he looked like a retired Marine. I couldn't remember a time when he didn't have a skull trim and a deep, fucked up tan courtesy of his uniform. Pops was looking a little leathery, but that was nothing new. Decades of working outdoors had done that to him. Like Dad and me, Pops was more than six feet tall. He was wide in his chest and shoulders, narrow in the waist and had the same long legs as us.

We were a family full of blond hair, blue eyed people. Both of my grandparents on Dad's side were Scandinavian and those genes seemed to be the dominant ones. In the summertime our hair turned almost white from being out in the sun all the time.

Josh looked like he was ready to shit himself, which was the appropriate reaction when a girl's older brother, father and grandfather were there and ready to kick ass. He looked like he might want to just sink underwater and stay there, but that wasn't going to work. Josh was clearly trapped, and obviously uncomfortable.

Ah, the joys of coming home.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I had called Mom to let her know I was coming up early. She was happy to have an extra day (sort of) with me. If anything, Dad would be even more thrilled since it meant he could get the beaver dams taken care of at a reasonable time. Jason wasn't much of an early riser. Then again, he would probably make the effort if it meant being able to go blow shit up.

I got home about five minutes after I got off the phone with Eric. Gran's old truck was parked in the driveway and Dad's car was in the open garage. The office and living room lights were on, giving the house a warm, welcoming glow. I went in through the garage to see Dad had been working on at least one of the three four-wheelers we owned. It was scary to think Dad would have to go out after beaver dams at least once more in December, and maybe a third time in January.

I let myself inside and the smell of chili hit me immediately. My mouth watered and I kicked off my shoes before going up to the kitchen. My parents' house was a hodge podge of additions. The rec room and game room weren't originally part of the house. It used to be that they had to go out the kitchen door to get to the garage.

They added the rec room when they decided they wanted a wet bar and a fireplace. The game room got added to give us kids a place to hang out with friends that my parents could supervise without having the rest of the house destroyed. I could see the old kettle on the stove, steam escaping from under the rattling lid.

"Daddio?" I called out. He and Gran had to be around somewhere, and it was weird that they weren't in the kitchen or the rec room.

"Down here!" Dad called from downstairs by the bedrooms.

"What'cha doin' down there, old man?" I called while crossing the kitchen.

"Looking for Jason's old sleeping bag for Hunter! I know it's here somewhere!"

I found Dad all the way in the basement, which was just two steps down from the level of the bedrooms Jason and I had used as kids. The basement was freakishly organized and everything was stored in plastic, labeled containers. All of them were on shelving units so there was next to nothing on the concrete floor. My parents were so OCD when it came to organization. It wasn't a bad thing, necessarily, but it was fascinating to most people to see organization at that level. It was mostly Dad's doing.

"I think Mom donated it after that fire over in Merrill," I reminded Dad once I was standing next to him. "Or it might be up at the cabin."

"Shit, it probably is," Dad stood up and shrugged. "Oh well. Gran has dozens of quilts."

"Yeah, she does," I agreed and gave Dad a hug after helping him up. "Where are Mom and Gran?"

"Gran found new quilting squares for some project they're doing over at the church, so Michele offered to run her over there to pick up a bunch," he explained.

"_More_ quilting squares? Gran has thousands of them," I shook my head. I was convinced my Gran was somewhat of a quilting hoarder. She had bins and bins of squares for quilts that were never going to get made.

"I know," Dad squeezed my shoulders. He was just grateful Gran had let him organize her collection so it wasn't a great big mess.

"Did you make the chili?" I asked, hoping it wasn't Mom.

"Gran."

"Thank God," I folded my hands and looked skyward.

"Should be ready. She started it at lunchtime. Michele was over at the real estate office doing battle with Peter Threadgill again," Dad got a couple of bowls down for us while I got some sharp cheddar and a red onion to dice up for garnish.

Dad liked elbow macaroni in his chili, where as I preferred tortilla strips with a little bit of cream cheese instead of sour cream. I could tell by Dad's frustration level that Peter was being extra persistent as of late. For the last five years or so, Peter had been trying to talk my parents into selling off portions of their property.

He wanted to build a golf course, of all things, but he didn't bother to do the research that would tell him none of the locals would ever use it. The guys I grew up around liked hunting, fishing and the packers. They didn't even really like football—just the Packers. It never ceased to amaze me how many green and/or gold ties I used to see at church on Sunday. Hell, even the pastor kept his sermons short during football season. It was insane.

My parents weren't interested in selling off the property. They especially didn't want Peter Threadgill to have it. He made the mistake of approaching them from the angle that it was more than they could handle. He was wrong, of course, and when he realized Mom wasn't going to budge, he took a different approach. That didn't work either.

Ultimately I think he decided that if he kept at them they would get annoyed and give in, but that wasn't going to happen either. If Peter didn't back off he was going to get a visit from Mr. Cataliades, my parents' lawyer, who would threaten to slap some sort of injunction on him. Or maybe one of my parents' friends in the health department would cause a little trouble at one of the restaurants Peter owned. He seemed to be interested in taking over the whole town one bit at a time.

The one thing I knew for sure was that my parents would fight tooth and nail to keep Peter off their land.

Dad and I sat down at the kitchen table and we talked about the problems with Peter. I suggested we take him along to blow up beaver dams and let him have Jason show him how it's done. Dad about choked on his chili. Laughing and swallowing didn't go together well. Jason turned into an eight-year-old when he got around the explosives and it was a good thing Dad had them locked up in a place that Jason didn't know about, or there would probably be random explosions all over the property.

If it were up to Jason, he'd just run around the woods with sticks of dynamite, blowing shit up. There was a reason Dad preferred to take me out for that particular chore. Jason was great for pulling tree stumps since it meant playing on the four-wheelers, but I always got a little nervous whenever Jason was around for anything that required a detonator. It was like letting a four-year-old be in charge of frosting cakes for diabetics.

Mom and Gran got home right around the time Dad and I were going back for seconds. There was enough chili in that giant pot to feed our entire family at least twice over. I got up to give Gran a hug and offered to fix her a bowl of chili.

"Don't be silly, I can get it myself," Gran kissed my cheek and then went over to the cabinet where the bowls were kept.

"How many squares did you buy?" I asked and Mom shot me a look of disapproval.

"They were on special if you bought them by the gross," Gran said and my heart sank.

"So how many did you get?" I tried not to sound judgmental. I was willing to bet Mom had already tried to talk Gran out of buying too much.

"Oh, I think it was what, Michele, about twenty?" Gran suggested casually as she ladled chili into a bowl.

I stared at Gran with disbelief. What the hell was she going to do with almost 3,000 quilting squares? I looked at Mom, who was shaking her head. "Adele, it was twenty-five," Mom corrected.

My eyes went wide as saucers. Even if Gran got a discount, which I'm sure she did, she still spent several hundred dollars on those squares. The church would reimburse her some, but I was sure there had to be a cap on the project costs. It was great that Gran was so creative and enjoyed her crafting, but it was an expensive habit.

Gran was okay, financially. Granddad was killed in an accident at the paper mill in the next town over, and between the workman's comp settlement and the lawsuit that was filed against the paper mill, Gran had been awarded several million dollars. The accident had happened before Jason was born, so neither of us had ever met Granddad. Gran had given Dad the money to purchase the land they were living on. She had set aside trust funds for each of us grandkids as well, so when I turned twenty-one I would start receiving monthly stipends of a little over $1,000.00 per month. At that rate it would take about twenty years to pay out the entire trust.

Jason had used a lot of the trust money to build his house, but I wasn't planning on touching it unless I had to. I planned to reinvest the money and let it grow as much as possible in the current economy. My brother didn't really think too much about the future, but I had too many goals to blow the extra grand a month on things I didn't really need. I wanted to own my own business at some point, and the money wouldn't just fall out of the sky.

Not to mention, living in Chicago wasn't cheap and I couldn't stay in Claudine's coach house forever. Going back and forth from Eric's place was working for now, but if things progressed we were probably going to want to live together. I still didn't know how he was able to afford his apartment every month, but I was going to have to ask him. He didn't have a job, so the money had to be coming from somewhere. His father was retired military but I knew soldiers didn't make a whole lot of money, so I doubted his parents were paying for his apartment.

Gran started rambling on and on about the project the church ladies were doing for Christmas. Mom had taken on organizing the annual children's pageant, along with the Cookie Walk that would take place on the same night. She looked over at me with big eyes, and I immediately knew what she was going to ask.

"I was hoping you would be willing to contribute a few batches of cookies for this," Mom practically batted her eyelashes at me.

"When would you need them?" I asked, knowing my weekends in December were going to be busy.

"The weekend before Christmas," she told me and I cringed.

"I could put together the dough while I'm here and you could freeze it," I suggested.

"That works," Mom said and I could only hope that Gran would be the one to do the actual baking. If it was left to Mom, she'd get sidetracked and forget to set the oven timer, or ignore it altogether.

I glanced over at Dad, who nodded to let me know he'd take care of it. God bless him for it, or the cookies would end up hockey pucks, both in color and in taste. It was bad enough I was getting up at dawn to start on Thanksgiving dinner. Gran was going to come over to help me truss up the turkey and get it into the oven. I planned on doing as much of the prep work as I could the next day. Dad was on vegetable detail since he wanted to work on his knife skills, and since I was now properly trained on it, I had been working with him a little at a time.

If I was really lucky, Mom would spend the day at the real estate office thinking of ways to make sure Peter Threadgill stayed the fuck away from the family. Somehow, I was pretty sure Mom would try to help with something. If that was the case, I planned to put her to work bundling silverware and setting the table. The farther I could keep her from the stove, the better. Maybe I could get Aunt Linda to take her for a manicure or something.

We were just putting away leftovers when Jason came in, looking dirty and in stinky enough to give even the grimiest gym bag the heaves. So of course, he came straight over and tried to hug me. "Ew! God, you stink like rancid deer ass!" I ran away from him, which proved to be a mistake because the he chased me. Yeah, sweating was going to help that stink.

Gran, Mom and Dad were all yelling at him to knock it off and go take a shower, but Jason didn't quit until he had me tackled in the rec room. He kissed my cheek and then let me go. What a jerk.

"You asshole!" I shouted at him as he walked away chuckling.

"Is that chili?" Jason asked as he walked through the kitchen.

"Dad, will you please hose him down?" I growled as I followed behind, and kicked Jason right in the ass as I passed him. "I'll be in the shower if anyone needs me."

"Hey, what about me?" Jason pouted.

"Go use your own shower, you smelly bastard!" I shouted as I went down the stairs and into the bathroom.

I didn't even want to know what Jason had been doing; I just wanted to get clean.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, siblings... I'm the oldest of 5 kids, and it's a complicated sitch, but I don't really know my brother that well so the bulk of my dealings with siblings comes from having 3 younger sisters. What a joy that is, huh? We appreciate each other much more now that we're older than we did when we were kids, but I think that's probably true for most people. Anyway... if I remember correctly they have one more chapter apart before they get back to Chicago, and I know we'll be seeing more of Granny. I love that old broad. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	23. Confessions

**So a lot of you were asking what "Delta Mike" was about. Many of you got that it was phonetic alphabet, but for those that didn't make the connection here goes. Delta is the word for "D" and Mike is the word for "M." Since Eric's father has started calling Sookie a dairy maid, that would be Delta Mike in military speak. Sort of like how "whiskey tango" is military speak for "white trash." Does that make sense now? Hopefully that clears things up for you. Y'all can thank Generation Kill for putting this idea in my head, by the way. See you at the bottom!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 23: Confessions<span>

**EPOV**

It felt like every song ever recorded about California was playing in my head all at once as I stepped onto the beach. The sand under my toes, the sunshine on my shoulders and the roar of the immense body of water ahead of me screamed that I was home, and while Chicago had grown on me, there was nothing like standing as close as I was to the Pacific on a warm November morning. I definitely couldn't do this if I was in Chicago at the moment.

My grandparents had wanted to go along so they'd selected a spot for us on the beach in Encinitas. Lacey rolled out her enormous towel and stretched out like the princess she had decided she was. Amber went down to the water after lathering on sunscreen. I did the same and then followed her down to the water as well. The lateness of the year meant there was a little chill in the water but it wasn't unbearable.

It wasn't long before I was floating on my back, wondering what Sookie was doing. It had to be about lunchtime in Wisconsin and I could only hope that she had been safe when she went out with her father that morning. I didn't want to call her only to find out that she had been hospitalized because she'd been blown up. Sookie had told me her brother was coming along, and he was the reason I was worried. She told me he wasn't really the kind of person you wanted carrying a dozen eggs, let alone anywhere near dynamite.

Wonderful.

It had been an interesting night around the Northman house as well. After giving Josh the third degree, Lacey had put all of the men in the house on her shit list. She refused to speak to any of us for the rest of the night. She blamed me for Dad and Pops treating Josh like they did, which was stupid since I didn't really say anything. I was, however, the only one she could mouth off to without worrying about getting grounded or yelled at for it.

Thankfully, I'd learned a long time ago how to tune out Lacey's tantrums. She was such a child most of the time. I didn't really care who she dated, and I told her as much after she spent ten minutes giving me the stink eye over breakfast. If she saw something in Josh that was worth her spending time with that was on her. I didn't have to deal with the guy.

"No one ever takes me seriously," Lacey had huffed, arms folded over her chest like she was still six-years-old.

After a decent swim I got out of the water and went over to where Lacey was laying in the sand. I parked my ass in the warm sand and nudged Lacey's foot. She turned her head toward me but said nothing. I motioned for her to pull her ear bud out and she did so reluctantly.

"What do you want?" Lacey muttered.

"You said this morning that no one takes you seriously. Do you want to know why?" I leaned back, bracing my hands behind me in the sand.

"Um, because they're jerks?" she suggested as if that was obvious.

"Or maybe it's because you act like a child most of the time," I countered and she rolled her eyes.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Eric," she pushed herself up suddenly, "no matter what I do; no one ever cuts me a break. Everyone always assumes I'm going to screw things up or make a big mistake. No one thinks I can do anything but that."

"Well Lo, you've sort of brought that on yourself, don't you think? I mean look at the way you've always dealt with problems. You have tantrums, you whine, you complain, you always assume someone else is going to clean up your mess… it's ridiculous. If you want Mom and Dad to treat you like an adult you have to start acting like one," I told her.

The problem was that Lacey wanted to have it both ways. She wanted to be given the freedom and power of an adult but she wanted to take responsibility like a child. One of these days she was going to get herself into a situation that our parents couldn't fix. I was pretty sure Lacey didn't have the guts to stand on her own and clean up her own messes. Really, it was just as much our parents' fault as it was Lacey's. They had enabled her for years, letting her get away with this shit because it was easier than dealing with a very strong-willed child.

Dad was gone so much when we were little, and Mom was too tired a lot of the time to really deal with things the way she wanted to. By the time she got some help, the patterns were already set. I was stubborn, determined and strong-willed when I wanted to be, but I was also willing to change things when I figured out something wasn't working. Lacey never figured that _she_ was the problem; it was always someone else.

"Is it true Dad's calling your girlfriend 'Delta Mike?'?" Lacey asked me.

I couldn't tell if she was changing the subject because she didn't want to talk about anymore, or if it was because she was considering what I was saying. Lacey, for all of her childish cues and reactions, could be hard to read in those rare moments when she put on her adult persona.

"You heard about that?" I inhaled and then exhaled loudly through my nose.

"What does it stand for anyway?" Lacey pulled her knees to her chest.

"Sookie is from Wisconsin, so Dad thinks she's a dairy maid," I shook my head and Lacey laughed.

"Well, it could have been worse," Lacey shrugged.

"Oh yeah?"

"They call Wisconsinites cheddar heads, right?" she reminded me.

"Charlie Hotel," I muttered under my breath and Lacey laughed.

Suddenly Delta Mike didn't seem so bad.

Granny had packed a picnic for us so we could have lunch at the beach. While she was setting all that up I grabbed my phone and went off to call Sookie. My goal was to get to the beach early enough to catch a sunrise one morning so I could send her a picture of it. My first morning in California and Dad had me up with him before dawn so we could go for a three mile run.

I actually didn't mind it. Going on runs together was really the only time I could be guaranteed we got some quiet time without Amber popping in to remind us she was Dad's buddy, and a little on the nosy side. We talked about things with Sookie and when I told Dad was in love with her, he'd stopped running to ask me the million dollar question. Had I slept with her yet?

He knew about the choice I'd made not to whore myself around, and while I could tell there was a part of him that didn't get it, I knew he was proud of me for making a decision and sticking to it even when temptation threatened to deter me. Having a goal like the one I had set for myself was pointless if I was just going to give in the first chance I got. I wasn't sure what the reason was, but there was something about Sookie that told me it was time to let go. It wasn't just hormones like it would have been with someone like Dawn. I loved Sookie, and I wanted to show her with actions and not just words.

Oddly enough, I didn't feel all that nervous about it. In the moment it might be a different story, but standing on a beach in California, staring out at the ocean, it felt like there wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I reminded myself that Sookie was in the same place as me. We were facing the edge of the cliff together. She had all the same anxieties that I did, so I didn't even need to say anything for her to understand why I felt the way I did.

Maybe that was where I had gone wrong in the past. The other girls I had dated always had more experience than me, and while some were okay with what I had decided, there were others who thought I was nuts. Not having to explain myself to Sookie was a relief. I dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hey you," she sounded out of breath.

"Hey. What are you up to?"

"Just got back from blowing up beaver dams," she sighed and I heard the zipper on her coat move. "How about you? What are you doing?"

"I am standing on a beach in Encinitas, wishing you were here," I told her and she swooned at me.

"You're adorable. Have I ever told you that?"

"Maybe once or twice, but I still meant what I said. I miss you."

"I miss you too! And I know you think it's weird, but I'm telling you, you would have had fun out there with us today. If nothing else you'd be able to clothesline Jason from getting too close to the explosives."

"Why does your father take him along if Jason just causes trouble?"

"In all fairness to Jason he's not _all_ trouble, but he certainly causes his share."

We talked for a while longer with Sookie telling me about what she'd been up to all morning. It definitely sounded like an interesting time. She also informed me she had plans to hang out with Jason, his new girlfriend, their cousin Hadley and her husband later on that night. She warned me there was the distinct possibility she might call or text me while she was intoxicated.

Drunk Sookie. Now there was something with a lot of possibilities.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

"Jase! Jase, let's play 'I Never!' I haven't played that since high school!" Hadley laughed hysterically.

"Yeah there's a reason for that," Jason laughed.

"What is that?" Amy asked and the laughter stopped.

"You've never played 'I Never?' Did you stay home all through high school?" Hadley looked appalled.

"No, I went an all-girls prep school full of lesbians and cutters," Amy said and everyone got quiet. "So how do we play this game?"

I looked around the room and when no one spoke I said, "we go around the room and everyone says something they've never done or never had. Anyone who _has_ done, or had, what the other person suggested has to take a drink."

"So if I said I never had parents who supported my decision to leave home?" Amy looked around.

"All four of us would drink," Jason said and Amy nodded.

"Get the drinks, boyfriend," Amy nudged him.

"Yes!" Hadley said with excitement. Remy looked a little nervous, as did Jason.

I didn't even want to think about what kind of skeletons were in my brother's closet. Then again, he was probably thinking the same about me.

"If you won't go, I will," I got up and headed for the garage.

"I'll help!" Amy volunteered and jumped up to follow me.

I liked Amy. She was taller than me and had what I called a ballerina body. She was slender and narrow, and she moved very gracefully. She had long, wavy dark hair and big green eyes. She had a warm smile and a soothing voice. Amy would probably make a great hypnotherapist.

"I don't know what Jason's problem is. He's usually all for anything that requires beer and has the potential for a drunk girl to want to make out with him," I laughed nervously and opened the fridge in the garage.

"Yeah I better be the only drunk girl he's making out with these days," Amy grabbed a couple of beers.

"Well, Jason doesn't usually talk about the girls he sees, but since he's making a big deal about you meeting the family, I'm guessing he's serious about you," I told her.

"Oh I'm aware of Jason's reputation," Amy laughed. "It's kind of hard not to be in small town life."

"That's a true story," I agreed with a nod.

"He talks about you a lot. He thinks what you're doing is brave. It takes guts to strike out on your own and follow your heart."

"Thanks. I don't know if it's brave as much as our parents raised us to never settle for anything less than what we want I think that ended up backfiring on them a little."

"Well, dreams come true not free, right?"

"Yeah," I smiled at her.

We carried the bottles of beer to the living room and set them down on the coffee table. Hadley was bouncing with excitement. Jason was fooling with the radio, better tuning in the local country station he loved. My brother was a bit of a redneck. The town we had grown up in was a little on the rural side but we weren't in farm country. All the same, Jason fancied himself a bit of a cowboy, or at least an outdoorsman of some sort. We were completely different that way.

Don't get me wrong, I could get down with a little country music, but for me it was a spice, not a staple. Jason danced his way over to the table once Kenny Chesney was coming in loud and clear. Remy and Hadley opened the beers and passed them around the table. My parents had always been of the opinion that it was up to us kids to make smart decisions for ourselves, and I was an adult. True, I wasn't legally supposed to be drinking but I didn't have plans to drive anywhere. I could crash on Jason's couch or walk back to my parents' house if I wanted to.

"So who's going first?" Hadley asked once we were all settled in our spots.

"Start us off, Had," I patted her knee.

"Okay... I never got sea sick," she started with something tame, but I knew it wouldn't stay that way.

No one drank and then it was Remy's turn. "I never read the Bible cover to cover."

I was the only one who drank to that and it was Amy's turn.

"I never got a tattoo," she said and Remy and I both drank.

"How many tattoos do you have now?" Hadley asked me.

"Three," I showed her the one on my wrist and the one on my neck.

"What about the other?" Amy asked.

"It's on my side, but it's kind of high up. I was getting it done when I met my boyfriend," I admitted with a smile.

To change the subject Jason said, "I never got anything pierced."

The three of us girls drank. I had my ears pierced, as did the others, but Hadley had done her bellybutton long ago before she got pregnant. It turned out Amy had her tongue pierced at one point but had to take it out when she had her wisdom teeth pulled.

"Ya had your tongue pierced?" Jason looked a little starry-eyed. "Any chance you'd do it again?"

"Uh, no, those days are behind me," Amy patted his thigh.

"I never learned to speak another language," I said. Amy and Remy drank, and then I found out Remy spoke Spanish and Amy spoke German.

We went around and around, drinking, laughing and swapping stories to explain ourselves. The confessions got a little more scandalous with each go 'round the table. I decided it was time for a break when Hadley said something about golden showers and Jason took a drink. I was thoroughly grossed out and didn't want to hear that story.

I grabbed my cell phone and went out the back door to the deck to call Eric. My phone said it was just after eleven, so it was nine there. The cool air felt good on my skin. Between the beer and the fire roaring in the living room, I was a little overheated. I coiled my hair up on top of my head and secured it with the elastic I kept on my wrist.

"Hey pretty girl," Eric said when he answered his phone.

"Pretty girl, huh?" I slurred just a little.

"Are you drunk?"

"A little," I confessed with a giggle, "my cousin wanted to play 'I Never,' so I've had a few."

"I hope your brother is keeping an eye on you," Eric said.

"I'm fine, baby, I promise. And I'm at his house so I don't even have to drive home."

"Well it sounds like you're having fun."

"I'd be having more fun if you were here. I really, really want to kiss you right now," I whispered.

"I want to kiss you too," he answered.

I wanted to do more than that and the alcohol seemed to have disabled my brain filter because I said, "I really want to fuck you."

The line went silent and I was worried he had hung up on me. Had I crossed a line? Wasn't that the sort of thing all boyfriends wanted to hear, even if they were virgins?

"Me too," his voice sounded different.

"Sookie, get your ass back in here!" Jason called from the kitchen door.

"Wait a minute!" I shouted back at him.

"You can have phone sex later!" Hadley added from behind him.

"We aren't having phone sex! Go away!" I shouted at them. In my drunken state, all of this seemed like a perfectly rational conversation to be having.

"Sookie, why don't you call me later?" Eric suggested.

"But I want to talk to you now," I pouted and ignored the peanut gallery catcalling me from the kitchen.

"Come on guys, leave her be," Amy herded them away from the door.

I really liked her. She was great.

"You're with your family. You should go spend time with them," Eric insisted.

"I will, I promise. I love them. I love you too, you know? You're so sweet and cute. You do nice things for me and you make me laugh. And you're a really good kisser," I prattled on and on.

Eric was quiet again for a moment, but then said, "I love you too, pretty girl. Now go hang out with your family. Call me before you go to sleep."

"You're the best boyfriend in the whole world. I miss you," I told him and suddenly got a little teary eyed.

"I miss you too, Sookie," he said sweetly.

We said our goodbyes and then hung up. I went back inside and didn't think anything of the fact that I had just told him I loved him for the first time while I was drunk. Instead, I grabbed another beer and continued to drink myself silly.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

She loved me. She was drunk and probably didn't realize she was saying it, but Sookie loved me. I'd known it for a while, but hearing it made it real. The real test would be if she said it again while she was sober. Regardless, I couldn't get the smile off my face.

"What'cha doin' out here son?" Pops asked when he stepped out the back door.

"Sookie called. She's hanging out with her brother and cousin tonight," I said and Pops took a seat at the table with me.

"Itchin' to get home, ain't ya?"

"Yessir," I nodded and Pops laughed.

"Sounds to me like you got yourself a good girl from all I been hearin' about her. How long y'all two been seein' each other?"

"Almost three months."

"You serious about her?"

"Yessir," I nodded again. "I wasn't expecting to but sometimes it sneaks up on you."

"Ain't that the truth?" Pops laughed. "I was workin' my first construction job after I got back from the Pacific when I met Charlotte. Some big mouth redneck was gettin' fresh with her and I swear; she unleashed a cuss storm that'd make your father's buddies blush. Charlie ain't never been one to let anybody get to walkin' on her.

"She ripped that fool boy a new one and by the time he was hobblin' away from her, I'm pretty sure I was in love with her. It was just my luck she already had a fiancé. It turned out the job I was working was for a guy rehabbing an old farmhouse for his future bride. That bride was Charlie."

"You stole her, Pops?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"Hell no. No, that fella got shitfaced and lost an argument with a table saw," he told me and I cringed.

"Sounds like a painful way to go."

"I wouldn't recommend it," he cracked his knuckles.

"So how long did you wait before making your move?" I asked him.

"She found me. I was having supper in a diner one afternoon and she just plopped down beside me at the counter. She took a look at the shepherd's pie I was eatin' and told me she could make better. I told her to put her money where her mouth was, and she made me dinner the next night," Pops recalled with a smile.

"So Granny's always been a spitfire," I stretched a little.

"Spitfire is a nice way of saying hellcat, and hellcat is a nice way of sayin' a word I'm probably not supposed to use to describe my wife," Pops chuckled, "but I like that Charlie doesn't let anyone push her around. She's always had a good head on her shoulders, and she's never said a cross word to anyone who didn't have it comin' to 'em."

That was true. Granny spoke her mind but she wasn't the kind to intentionally put people down just because she could. Pops went on to tell me how her parents hadn't approved of him in the beginning. They hadn't been convinced he could take proper care of their daughter. Since getting out of the Army, Pops had worked in construction pretty steadily, with the intention of someday running his own crew.

That didn't happen until they'd been married for almost five years, but the important thing was that Pops didn't give up. Granny didn't listen to her parents when they told her she was moving too fast with Pops. They only dated for six weeks before he proposed to her.

"You two weren't wasting any time there, were you?"

"Couldn't afford to. I was already almost thirty and Charlie's only a year behind me. We knew we wanted kids and back in those days people our age were closing' up shop already. Folks didn't wait until they were almost forty to get started like they do today. When we told her folks, I thought for sure ole Jens was gonna have hisself a stroke," Pops recalled with another chuckle.

"Did things ever get better with her parents?"

"Eventually, things worked out alright. But I tell ya, it don't matter what anyone else thinks. If you can look into your girl's eyes and see yourself there, don't give it up too quick. I knew, before I even knew her name, that Charlie was the one for me. Something about her grabbed aholda me and didn't let go. Seemed like I always knew her, and every year that passes me by; I feel like I'm caught in that paradox of time. You know how a long time can feel short and somehow not long enough all at once? That's how I feel with Charlie. So if that's the way you find yourself feelin' about a girl, you hang onto her, even if she tries to push you away. If she pushes, that only means she needs ya to love her more," Pops advised me.

Pops always gave the best advice.

* * *

><p><strong>How awesome is Pops? Good man, that one. In case anyone is wondering that blowing up beaver dams thing is something that really has to be done up north. I've gone along to do it. Granted, I think I was about twelve at the time and thought it was mean, but now I get it. Water needs to freeze evenly up there so you don't end up with a flood in the spring when everything thaws, and it gets damn cold up in that part of Wisconsin in the dead of winter. It can get into the below zero temperatures here in Chicago no problem, and it gets even colder up there. So as cruel as it sounds, it's a necessity. It's also really dangerous so unless you know what you're doing, don't try it just for fun. Our love birds will be back together very soon! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	24. All the Things She Said

Chapter 24: All the Things She Said

**SPOV**

The sun needed to die. My head weighed a thousand pounds, at least, and it felt like there was a woodpecker and a jackhammer competing to see what could cause me more pain. Why the fuck did I drink so much? How much did I drink anyway?

The fact that I couldn't really remember much of anything after playing 'I Never' wasn't a very good sign. It took all the strength I had just to life my head up off my pillow. I had managed to get myself back to my parents' house. I felt around for my cell phone to see what time it was. Given the amount of sunlight trying to break in through the old damask curtains, I assumed it was way past dawn.

I didn't give a single fuck that I was late with the turkey. My body didn't even want to think about food, much less stuffing my hands into a turkey's asshole. I wanted to fast forward to Saturday night when I would be safely snuggled in Eric's bed, hangover-free. Yes, that would be much better.

My cell phone told me it was just after ten. I could faintly make out the smell of turkey, suggesting Gran had gotten the bird going for me. Or maybe Daddio took care of it? Had he come to get me? I checked my call history to see who I had decided to drunk dial, and was relieved when I only saw Eric's number. But then when I opened his contact, I saw that I had called him three times the night before.

The last time I called him was at about four this morning. The call hadn't lasted for very long, and I assumed I probably just left him some stupid, drunken message. I cringed at the multitude of things I might have said to him. I didn't recall any of the other calls I had made to him either.

What the sparkly fuck did I drink last night?

I felt around for my hooded sweatshirt and slipped that on before getting out of bed. I headed for the bathroom but stopped when I summoned enough brain power to remember that the sun rose in the east, and that was the direction the bathroom window faced. I would be blinded immediately, and I was in no mood to have Daddy come downstairs and lift me off the bathroom floor.

On a whim, I checked my text messages to see if I had done any damage there. Again, I had only texted Eric—thank fuck- and I felt my stomach flip-flop when I saw one from about two in the morning.

**Me:** I wasn't kidding b4. I 3 u.

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! I told him I loved him in a fucking _text message_? I scrolled up feverishly, but didn't see any other mention of it. Had I hallucinated telling him I loved him? Or had that been part of the Watergate-type phone calls I was missing minutes for? Jesus fucking Christ.

Just how much damage had I done to my relationship in a couple of hours? Unfortunately, that was the time my stomach decided to get in on the fuckery my head was performing, and I ended up in the blindingly bright bathroom, puking my guts out on the cold tile. Alcohol poisoning was a bitch.

"Here, drink this," Dad appeared—well, his hand did- with a mug of coffee strong enough to put hair on my chest.

_God bless my father._

He got a washrag for me and even managed to get my hair tied back.

Daddio is my hero.

"I'd lecture you about drinking, but I think your hangover is explaining it much better than I ever could," he patted my shoulder, "I'll tell Gran you've got the stomach flu."

"Thank you, Daddy," I mumbled and gave him a thumbs up before my face was back in the toilet bowl.

This wasn't at all how I planned on spending Thanksgiving and I was pretty sure Gran was going to see right through it. I had been over at Jason's after all, and what was the likelihood that something similar was going on over at her place with Hadley and Remy? Daddy wouldn't be fooling anyone, but I appreciated his willingness to take a little heat off me.

I grabbed a towel to dry my face once I stopped heaving and retching. The cool tile on the floor felt good against my face, and for a moment I tried to convince myself it really was the stomach flu that had me feeling so damn sick. It didn't work, and as I lay there trying desperately to remember what the fuck I had done the night before, I started getting little flashes here and there of things. I saw myself on the phone on Jason's deck.

Ah ha! Minutes from Watergate!

I saw shot glasses lined up and a vile, brownish looking liquid was being poured into them. There were cans of Red Bull (that stuff was toxic waste and I never drank it) and I briefly remembered Jason's smoke detector going off. By the time I peeled myself off the bathroom floor I was no closer to remembering how I had gotten home. If I had walked, it was amazing I had safely arrived at my final destination. If I drove… well, then it was amazing I wasn't wrapped around a tree.

I emptied the mug Daddy had given me and refilled it with lukewarm tap water since cold water probably would have been too big a shock for my very weak stomach. I smelled like a brewery, as did the rest of the damn bathroom, and a shower was going to go on my list… just as soon as I had a nice nap. I chugged down a couple of mugs full of water, and once I was sure it was staying down, I went to the medicine cabinet to retrieve a pair of ibuprofen to add to the party.

I staggered back to my bedroom with my eyes closed and didn't even look when I dropped like a ton of bricks. My bed was so warm and comfortable. It was easy to imagine Eric spooned up behind me, lovingly stroking my hair as I dropped off. Deep down I knew he wasn't really there but I was delighted to live in the delusion for a little while.

I couldn't believe I told him I loved him while I was drunk. What the fuck was wrong with me? In my dreams he came back from California full of second guesses and doubts as to whether or not he really wanted to still be with me. Going home had made him see that I wasn't the girl for him after all, and my telling him I loved him over the phone like I did only sealed the deal that he could do better.

When I woke up it felt like I had a sucking chest wound. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was almost one in the afternoon. Eric would be awake and I needed to talk to him. I needed to straighten all of this out before I drove myself batshit.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

"Eric will you please bring in the leaf for the dining room table?" Mom asked while I was eating a bowl of cereal.

"Sure. How soon do you want it?"

"Soon. I'm going to need more prep surface area," she told me while chopping celery stalks.

"No problem. I'll get it as soon as I finish my cereal," I promised her.

"Thank you," she smiled over at me, "at least I have one obedient child."

Lacey snorted at that from across the room. She had been relegated to potato peeling duty and she wasn't happy about it. Pops, Dad and I were a force to be reckoned with on Thanksgiving. It was probably a good thing our entire family didn't get together since my father was just one of four boys, all about the same size with the same appetite. Mom and Granny would be cooking for days to feed us all. There was a total of nineteen grandkids to see to, eleven of which were boys like me.

And Pam could put it away too, when she wanted to. After her last big breakup when I first moved to Chicago, she practically lived out of her sweats and ate nothing but Häagen-Dazs chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and whatever Hot Pockets she could get her hands on. Pam was gross when she was depressed, I'll tell you that. She practically had me sign a confidentiality agreement about that binge she went on, though. Having her clients find out she was human was apparently a bad thing.

But I doubted anyone really gave a shit what Pam's post-breakup ritual was. For me, all it usually took was a sunrise on the beach and the greasiest burrito I could find, and I was able to get my head back together. I'd been through breakups before and the only one that ever really bothered me was Dawn. With that one I just felt so fucking dumb. Like how had it not registered in my mind that she was cheating on me? When all was said and done I found out that it wasn't just one guy, and it had been going on for pretty much the entire time we were dating.

How did I not see it?

I didn't blame myself for her cheating, but I did blame myself for being too blind to realize it was happening. I was never going to be that blind again. It got me thinking about the situation with Sophie. I really fucked up there. I told Sookie I loved her and then I lied to her like that? Sometimes lying by omission was even worse than coming up with some stupid bullshit cover story, or altering the events to soften the blow.

Part of being in love with someone meant being able to tell them the truth. Would I want to hear that some other guy had been getting gropey with my girl? No, not really, but I would rather Sookie tell me than keep it to herself. I didn't want her thinking I welcomed the attention I was getting from Sophie, and yet I was worried that was exactly what she was going to think.

"Eric?" Mom's voice broke into my thoughts.

"What? Yeah, I'm… what?" I shook my head and Mom lifted an eyebrow at me.

"Where did you go?"

"Just thinking," I got up to take my cereal bowl to the sink.

"I want to meet your girlfriend," Lacey piped up from her corner of the room.

"Get in line, Lo," Mom winked in her direction.

"Come to Chicago and you can," I shrugged while rinsing out my bowl.

"Or bring her back here with you for Christmas," Lo suggested.

"We're going to Missouri this year," Mom said and I grinned.

"Missouri? Really?" This was fanfuckingtastic news.

My parents came from a little town on the southwestern side of Missouri, not too far from Joplin. As a result of that, Pops' construction company had been extremely busy due to the rebuilding after the tornado that had torn through the town earlier in the year. I had spent a pretty good portion of my summer in Joplin, working on one of Uncle Jim's crews. At a time when the economy was in the shitter, being able to fall back on working with the family was a good thing.

The drive from Joplin to Chicago took about eleven hours. We could drive down together for a day or two, and then Sookie could drive back alone. I knew she was going up north to see her family for Christmas and even though we would be in the same general area of the country, Missouri and Wisconsin weren't quite neighbors. There were trains that ran as well, but they all went through St. Louis, which was four hours east of Joplin if traffic was light.

"Well, Granny and Pops are getting too old to keep flying around like this, and God knows there's too many people to stay here for a week," Mom was practically having a seizure at the thought of almost thirty people crammed into our house. With just five the place felt too small sometimes.

"I am _not_ sharing my room with five other girls," Lacey said definitively and I couldn't help but wonder if Lacey's inability to share much of anything had factored into the decision.

"Oh come on, Lo, you don't want to share your bathroom with eight sweaty construction workers?" I teased and she threw potato peels at me.

"It's just too many people," Mom said to keep us from fighting. "Besides, Granny and Pops are hoping they'll get to meet Sookie and they figure she might actually come if we had Christmas in Missouri. You could come in with Pam since she won't stay the whole time either."

"Sookie has a car," I said.

"Well, however you do it; it would mean a lot to Granny and Pops if she came."

"Not to mention Mama Bear wants to give her the once over," Lacey chimed in and got herself popped with a dish towel for it.

"Hush your lips, Lo," Mom said quietly, although I had already assumed that was part of it too.

"I'll talk to Sookie about it when I get back to Chicago. I'm pretty sure we can work something out."

As if on cue, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Sookie was calling. Her last voicemail made me a little nervous. She had called when her brother's girlfriend was driving her home. She had drunkenly assured me Amy was sober enough to drive.

"Are you alive?" I asked her.

"Barely," she mumbled.

I smiled and headed for the patio door. The sky was clear and bright. Temperatures were supposed to get into the lower seventies. I wondered how cold it was in Wisconsin just then.

"Not feeling so good, huh?" I asked once I was outside and away from my chattering mother and sister.

"Like death warmed over, mostly. And I'll warn you, I don't really remember what I said during my phone calls last night. I have no idea what I drank, aside from beer, and I don't know how much. I'm waiting for Jason or Hadley to get here so hopefully one of them can tell me what happened. I don't even remember getting home," she told me.

"Amy drove you. You left a voicemail during your last call so I would know you got home okay," I informed her.

Sookie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. I had no idea… I figured someone drove me but… I am _never_ drinking again."

I laughed at that and said, "Yes you will. That's the same promise everyone suffering from an epic hangover makes. Besides, we could probably have some fun together while we're drunk. You said some pretty naughty things to me last night."

"Oh God," she muttered.

"I plan on holding you to each and every one of them on Saturday, just so you know," I warned her.

"What did I say?" she asked nervously.

She had told me she wanted to fuck me, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I knew she would just be embarrassed by it and I didn't want to humiliate her simply because it was amusing. I didn't doubt she was being honest, at least on some level, with what she said but I also knew she wasn't ready yet. I wasn't going to be an asshole and pressure her into something like that, and I definitely didn't intend to take the word of a drunk woman.

I repeated the things she had said to me, minus the fucking part, and the little noises she was making let me know she wasn't turned off by those ideas. I shifted uncomfortably on my chair and hoped none of my family members decided to come out and get me. I definitely had a situation going on and didn't need my sisters running around telling everyone about it. Fuck, Granny seeing it would be even worse. I could only imagine the vulgarities that would spew from her, not to mention the sex advice.

Pops had been generous enough with that. Talk about your awkward moments.

"Eric, I need that table leaf!" Mom called from the patio door, interrupting Sookie's story of what had happened when she woke up.

"Shit, Sookie, I have to go do some stuff for my Mom. Call me later?" I suggested.

"Definitely. I miss you, Eric," she said, and I took that to mean she loved me, even if she didn't remember saying it.

"I miss you too. Love you," I told her because I still felt it and I didn't want her freaking out if I didn't say it.

We said our goodbyes and then hung up. In just under forty-eight hours I would be back in Chicago. I couldn't wait.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, <em>next<em> chapter they'll definitely be back together. I completely forgot about this one. If I remember correctly I had done an extensive amount of texting with kjwrit when I wrote the Sookie half of this chapter and texting with her always kicks my sarcasm and sense of humor into overdrive, so you can thank her for any chuckles you got out of that. Thanks for reading!**


	25. Oh it is Love

Chapter 25: Oh, it is Love

**SPOV**

Finally it was Saturday. Gran hadn't busted my chops too much about my hangover on Thanksgiving. Me having the "stomach flu" actually was a bit of a favor because it kept Mom out of the kitchen. She spent most of her day tidying up the house and checking on me so she didn't have a chance to go in there and over-season something, or let something burn. Dad and Gran had it covered just fine all on their own.

Next year, however, I was flying solo on making dinner. If I was lucky, I would have my own six foot four sous chef with me. Only time would tell about that though.

The closer I got to Chicago, the more excited I became. The plan was for me to wait at a nearby suburb for him to call me when he landed. According to the airline, his flight was coming in on time. Traffic wasn't as bad as it could have been, and I was making excellent time on my way back. I pulled into a McDonald's parking lot to wait for Eric's call. A quick trip through the drive-thru got me a peppermint hot cocoa.

I pulled a book out of my purse and let the car idle for a little while with the heat cranked up. Temperatures had climbed a little bit, thank God, and it was almost fifty degrees outside. I had Eric's coat in my trunk since there was no reason for him to take it to California with him, but I knew he would need it when he got off the plane. Since I'd been in the car I was layered appropriately in a t-shirt and pullover. With the heat cranked up, the pullover wasn't even really necessary. The sun was nice and warm, and since the sky was clear and bright I was getting plenty of its warmth on me.

Hell, if I had been sitting in the passenger's seat I probably would have fallen asleep. I could just ball up my pullover to use it as a pillow and it would be lights out. Instead I turned off the car and cozied up with my book. I was sitting there for about forty-five minutes when my phone rang. I scrambled to answer it.

"Hello?" I said with excitement.

"The eagle has landed," Eric told me and I was about bouncing in my seat.

"What about my boyfriend?" I teased anyway.

"He's here too. How far are you?"

"I'm waiting for you in the McDonald's parking lot," I started the car up again. "I don't know what traffic is like getting into the airport, but I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I'll be waiting for you," he promised and we hung up.

It felt like I was sitting in traffic for hours, when it was really maybe a half hour before I reached the arrivals terminal. I hoped Eric wasn't standing out there freezing his ass off the whole time. In the sun it was warm but in the shade it was damn cold. Then all of a sudden, there he was, standing on the curb, hugging himself to keep warm. I fought my way over to where he was waiting for pickup, and as soon as I could stop I threw the car into park and jumped out.

He was tan and looked like the trip had done him good. It hit me how much I wanted to do him good and before I knew what I was doing, I jumped on him. He caught me easily and the ensuing kiss was the best thing ever. I missed kissing him more than I could have imagined. You would think the world was ending, or that he was coming home from war the way we carried on, but I didn't care.

Just four days away from him and I was damn near losing my mind. If there was any doubt about whether or not I was in love with him, the way I pounced on Eric when he got home removed it. He stood there with me wrapped around him until one of the airport security people interrupted us.

"Break it up and get a move on, or I'm having this Challenger towed!" An angry officer shouted.

I giggled against Eric's lips and he set me down. "You wanna drive?" I offered.

"Sure," he leaned down and kissed me.

I took Eric's bag from him and carefully put it in the backseat of the car while he went around to the driver's side. The car was toasty warm, which was more than I could say for my boyfriend, who was shaking slightly from standing out in the cold. I felt awful that he had to wait out there like that but there wasn't much to be done about it.

"Why didn't you wear a sweatshirt?" I picked up his hand and rubbed it between mine in attempts to warm it up.

"When I got on the plane in California it was in the seventies," he said with a shrug. "Besides, I'm sure you'll figure out a way to warm me up."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be plenty warm by the time we get back to your apartment," I squeezed his hand.

"Don't count on it. The chills here run deep," he winked at me, "and didn't you say something about spending the rest of tonight kissing me silly?"

"Yessir," I agreed and kissed the back of his hand and up his wrist to his elbow until he squirmed a little. "Ooh, look who's ticklish."

"Careful, Sookie, I know how to make you squirm too," Eric reminded me in what I had come to think of as his sex voice. It made my inside go all wiggly and my lady bits would probably reach out and grab him if they could.

The bright sky clouded over a little, which was actually a good thing since I had lost my sunglasses at some point while I was up at my parents' place. Traffic leaving the airport was a fucking nightmare and we almost got sideswiped a couple of times by reckless cab drivers and their retarded cousins, limo drivers. I hated driving in these more populated areas. I was used to the open back roads of rural Wisconsin where the posted speed limit was 45, but no one drove under sixty. I was a pro at dodging deer and stupid cows who somehow managed to get off the property they belonged on. And I did it without street lights.

Eric tuned in the classic rock station since I had been listening to country music. It was the only thing that would come in clearly for a while there. Traffic lightened up a little bit but then slowed after Harlem. Brake lights were ahead of us for as far as I could see. It was Saturday afternoon. There had to be an accident or something in order for traffic to be that bad.

"What's going on downtown this weekend?" Eric glanced over at me as we rolled to a stop.

"Nothing that I know of. The Mag Mile stuff doesn't happen until next weekend. We should go," I squeezed his hand.

"You want to go stand out in the cold to watch a tree be lit up?" Eric asked and I nodded.

"It's fun! Besides, we're only two miles away if we leave from my place. We can always hop on a bus if it gets too cold," I insisted, "besides you need to work on your layering skills."

"I thought I would just wear you," Eric smirked.

"You probably will, but you still need to dress warm," I didn't mention the idea of lounging in his enormous tub when we got back to his apartment.

We were quiet for a few minutes. Traffic didn't budge and I could tell Eric was seriously considering putting the car in park when we were able to move a whole half a foot. At that rate we'd be home by Easter. My car smelled of leather and Eric, which was quickly becoming my favorite combination.

I let go of his hand long enough to pull off my sweatshirt and toss it in the backseat. His eyes were all over me while I moved and I intentionally made sure my t-shirt came up a little with the sweater. It was something akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull, but I was looking forward to being charged. Damn traffic was cockblocking me, in a manner of speaking.

I was stalling. While we were trapped in the car together I should have been explaining my drunken stupidity, but I was holding back. I wondered if there was a reason he hadn't mentioned it, or why he hadn't acknowledged it in the text messages we had exchanged. He seemed to glaze right over it, which I found strange.

It dawned on me that he probably hadn't taken me seriously. Since I didn't know the context in which I had said it, or what had brought it on, it seemed probable that he had reasons to think it was just drunken rambling. It wasn't, though. I loved him. I was in love with him. I might have picked a shitty time to tell him, but it didn't change the fact that it was true.

"There's something I want to ask you about," I said nervously, biting my bottom lip a little.

"Okay," Eric was perfectly calm, of course, which should have made me feel better but it didn't.

"When I called you the night before Thanksgiving, did I say anything that… you know anything that was out of the ordinary for me?" I asked. Yep, still stalling.

"You said a few things that were out of the ordinary for you," Eric said with a quiet laugh, but I wasn't laughing. I felt terrible. He caught onto this and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I meant what I said. I don't remember how I said it, or why I said it, but I meant it when I told you that I love you. I'm sorry it came out the way that it did, and I hope you're not mad at me for it," I looked over at him, feeling my stomach doing intense flips that would make Olympic divers jealous.

"Why would I be mad?" Eric lifted an eyebrow and reached for my hand.

The car inched forward a little.

Everything felt warmer so I rolled my window down just a little bit.

My face was flushed.

Was I having a panic attack? Fuck. I'd never had one of those before.

"Sookie?" Eric pulled me from my musings.

"Because I've never said that before—to anyone. You're the first and-"

Lips on mine. Immediate and crushing. Yummy.

I let myself indulge for a minute, but then I pulled back. I wanted to make sure we were square. The kiss told me we were good, but I wanted to hear him say it. I wanted to tell him I loved him without any question of whether or not I meant it; I wanted him to know it was real.

"Wait," I pushed him back a little, cupping his face in my hands. The scruff was back. I loved him for it. "I just want to make sure you know I mean it. I really do love you."

"I know," Eric grinned in a smug way, "I've known it for a while now. I was waiting for you to figure it out."

I scoffed silently at him and he responded my kissing my bottom lip, the corners of my mouth and then my nose. Our eyes met and for the first time ever, I could see myself there. We were completely on the same page. I loved him; he loved me. It was perfect.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

We tumbled into my apartment, lips firmly attached. I set my bag down as gently as I could since my laptop was in there, but I didn't want to stop kissing Sookie either. When we realized the highway was getting us next to nowhere, we managed to get off at the next exit and navigated our way back to my place on surface roads. It was much faster once we found North Avenue.

I kicked the door closed behind me and was surprised by Sookie's aggressiveness when she pushed me against the closed door. She broke the kiss long enough to pull off her t-shirt and my hands immediately went to her breasts. My palms fit over them perfectly and I kneaded gently before reached around to get rid of her bra.

I stopped all of a sudden; wanting to make sure Stan wasn't lurking around. We would never hear the end of it if he saw Sookie topless. "Anyone else here?" I called out and when silence was my answer, it was game on.

Like the awesome girlfriend she was, Sookie started fiddling with the button on my jeans and once she got that open, she lowered the zipper too. Her hands were a little cool as they slipped into my pants, and I hissed at the feeling of them on a much warmer part of my body. I flinched a little when her hand wrapped around my erection. My eyes met hers, and they were dark and intense as she watched me.

Fuck, that felt good.

Four days of willing away morning wood completely sucked but it was better than being interrupted while in the shower by one of my impatient sisters. Nope, I wasn't going to think about that. I was alone in my apartment with Sookie, and she was staring at me like she wanted to devour me. Was it possible she was serious about that wanting to fuck me thing?

I mean, I knew she did. She wouldn't have been giving me a hand job, or talking to me about birth control options if she didn't want to, but was she ready? I'd been thinking about it a lot, and I knew I was. We needed to talk about that but now wasn't the time. Her thumb rubbed around the head of my erection and my eyes closed.

Damn that was awesome.

"Look at me, Eric," she said in a low, sultry voice I'd never heard before. If she kept talking like that I was going to lose what little control I had.

She drove me crazy. I wonder if she knew that. She probably did.

My eyes focused on hers for a moment before traveling down to her breasts. Perfection. It was possible there was a pair more perfect than hers, but I doubted it was probable. I reached out to touch them, gently running my fingers around the outer side before moving in toward her nipples. The little buds hardened instantly under my fingertips. I wanted them in my mouth, but given the way we were currently positioned that wasn't going to happen.

"I want to watch your eyes when you come," she told me and that about made her wish come true right there.

I grunted—completely undignified, I know- and leaned down to kiss her. She let me have her lips for a few seconds before pushing me back. She didn't say anything else, but she didn't need to. Sookie slowly started to bend her knees and as she lowered herself, her hand trailed down my chest to my stomach. She didn't waste time teasing me, other than letting me feel her warm, moist breath on my skin before she opened her mouth and guided my cock into it.

My hand slammed against the door and she smiled up at me the best she could. Torture. Best torture ever, but torture all the same.

This was definitely the best way she had ever welcomed herself into my apartment but I knew it was about more than that. If we _were_ having sex, no doubt she would have been naked underneath me already back in my bedroom. This was the best we could do, for the time being, and I wasn't complaining. Not one bit.

"Go a little faster, Sookie," I tried not to close my eyes, but I wanted to.

I wanted to close my eyes and let myself get lost in the sensations of what she was doing to me. It was fucking amazing. She did as I asked and bobbed her head a little faster. Her eyes never left mine as she moved. When she started humming the battle ended quickly and with very little warning. Sookie didn't seem to mind, and swallowed everything.

Holy fuck.

My eyes finally closed and I rested my head back against the door. I was breathing heavy, trying to get my brain to function properly again, when Sookie stood up and leaned against me to hug me.

"Welcome home," she whispered and I laughed.

"You realize I'm going to expect you to give me a greeting like that every time I get back from a trip, right?" I kissed the top of her head.

Sookie laughed quietly too and said, "It would be worth it. I really missed you."

Two hours and just as many orgasms for Sookie later, we were stretched out on my bed, talking about what we wanted to do for dinner. Sookie offered to cook but that would mean leaving the apartment and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to keep her all to myself just for the night.

"Food needs to cook itself and then find a way in here so I don't need to leave this bed," I told Sookie and she snickered.

"Doesn't work that way, sweetie," she sat up. That was bad enough but then she was looking for her shirt.

"We'll just order takeout," I said but she wasn't having any of it.

"We do that too much. Come on, we'll find something easy to make," she insisted and pulled her shirt on.

I fully admit, I wanted to cry. I wanted more naked time. Well, at least partially naked time.

Sookie had her ways of convincing me to get up, however, and she was successful in getting her way. I may have pouted. She may have pretended not to notice. We ended up going to a little market down the street and bought stuff to make enchiladas. We were back in my apartment in less than a half an hour.

"See, that wasn't so bad," she said as she unpacked the groceries.

I said nothing because I would have sounded like a big whiner. Together we started prepping things for the enchiladas, and when it was time to put things together Sookie stepped back and said, "Okay, you're going to do this."

"I have no idea what I'm doing," I admitted.

"I'll talk you through it," she patted my arm. "Okay, you're going to start by dipping one of the tortillas in the green sauce," she pointed to the plate that had salsa verde on it.

I did as she asked and then she sprinkled some shredded chicken, cheese and the sautéed peppers and onions on the tortillas. I rolled it up, per her instructions, and then put it in the baking dish that had more salsa verde in it. I repeated the process five more times and then Sookie was pouring the rest of the salsa over the top, and sprinkling more cheese on them. While I washed my hands, she put the dish in the oven.

"There, see? Dinner is in the oven and I promise you it will be a million times better than ordering a pizza," she stretched up and kissed my neck since that was all she could reach.

I dried my hands and while we waited for the enchiladas to bake, we went to the living room to pick a movie to watch while we ate. We settled on _The Goonies_, and got it set in the DVD player.

"Can you do the Truffle Shuffle?" Sookie asked me with an amused look on her face.

"I'd rather see _you_ do it," I smirked at her.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she lifted an eyebrow.

Gotta love a challenge.

"I'm only doing this because I love you," I shook my head while she clapped her hands and bounced with excitement.

I took a deep breath, dropped the remote in my hands, and got to it.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawwwwwwwww they're officially in love now! How cute are they? And an Eric that does the Truffle Shuffle? WHERE CAN I GET ONE? Just make sure you have protective goggles on so you don't accidentally get poked in the eye with anything... Thanks for reading!<strong>


	26. The Legend of Chubby Bunny

Chapter 26: The Legend of Chubby Bunny

**EPOV**

Hands down, Sookie's Truffle Shuffle was better than mine. The enchiladas almost burned because of it. That would have been a shame since they were delicious. We ate on the couch—something I almost never did- and enjoyed the movie. I loved that we could be total nerds together and I didn't have to worry that she was going to mock me for it. Then again, mocking _The Goonies_ was grounds for dismissal, in my opinion.

I decided right then and there that if things didn't work out with Sookie for some reason, watching _The Goonies_ would be how I tested all future girlfriends. But at the moment I was perfectly content with the girl snuggled up with me on the couch. We were a good fit, I thought. I knew it was still relatively early in our relationship, but I never got tired of being around her. I wanted her around all the time. Preferably naked, but that wasn't mandatory.

We cleaned up together after the movie, which didn't take long. There wasn't much else to do but channel surf until we started to nod off. We went back to my bedroom to get ready for bed, and were curled up alongside one another a short time later. Four nights without Sookie was more than enough time to tell me I didn't want to ever spend that much time away from her again. I slept much better when she was next to me.

I woke up the next morning with her head on my stomach and her arm stretched out over me. The familiar smell of cinnamon and Sookie was back on my sheets, just the way I wanted it. I didn't even want to move. Staying in bed just as we were had an infinite amount of appeal for me. Unfortunately, I had to pee.

I shuffled to the bathroom and did what I needed to do. I got back in bed carefully, curled myself around Sookie and went back to sleep. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of it while I could. About two hours later I woke up again when I felt her stretching out beside me. I opened my eyes just as her head popped up, and to have her smile at me first thing in the morning was perfect. If I were a little bit bigger of a nerd, I would write poetry about it.

"Good morning," Sookie said through her smile.

"Morning," I smiled back and let my arms close around her when she dropped herself onto my chest. She snuggled against me and it was the best feeling in the world. "No more spending four nights sleeping in separate beds."

She laughed quietly and pressed a warm kiss to my chest, but said nothing. I took it to mean she agreed with me. I thought about what Pops said while we were out on the deck talking the night Sookie drunk dialed me. He had made it pretty clear that love was something that didn't come along very often, so even if it didn't work out it was better to seize it than let it slip by. I don't know that I could say I always felt like I knew Sookie, but getting to know her had been easy. She put herself out there and I had done equal parts myself. For whatever reason, we clicked.

Finally it was the mutual rumbling of stomachs that forced us out of bed. We decided to go down to a nearby diner to get breakfast since I still needed to do more extensive grocery shopping and neither of us felt like waiting until that was done. It was a blustery Chicago morning with a few flurries falling around us. We hadn't really dealt with serious accumulation yet but it was only a matter of time before we got hit.

The diner was busy so we had to wait ten minutes for a table, but the food made it worthwhile. We were seated by a hostess with piercings all over her face, and funky dreadlocks in various colors that made both Sookie and I raise an eyebrow after she left us. I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted before I even opened the menu.

"Can I get ya something to drink?" A waitress stopped at our table.

"Orange juice for me," I said when the waitress looked at me.

"Hot chocolate," Sookie beamed. I was going to steal some of that.

"Do you know what else you want or do you need a minute?"

"I need a minute," Sookie continued to smile in the booth across from me.

"I'll be right back with your drinks," the waitress shuffled off.

"No coffee?" I was surprised.

"Nah, not today. Today is a hot cocoa day if ever there was one," Sookie rubbed her hands together, trying to get them warm. Her hands and feet were always getting cold on her at the weirdest times. "Do you know what you're getting?"

"Yep, I'm getting the Fiesta Skillet," I said with a grin.

"Sounds good," Sookie nodded and clucked her tongue while looking at the menu. After a moment a smile crossed her face and said, "I got it."

"What'd you decide on?"

"Two cheese omelet with bacon," she bounced a little in her seat.

According to Sookie, everything was better with bacon. I couldn't disagree with that.

The waitress came with our drinks and we placed our breakfast orders. Service went quickly, considering how busy the diner was, but that was to be expected on a Sunday morning. Our food came to our table just as the snow really started to come down outside. I was busy watching the flakes fall when I felt Sookie's hand cover mine on the tabletop. I glanced over and she smiled at me.

"I looked in the Farmer's Almanac to see what they predict for weather when we go up north," Sookie told me.

"Oh yeah? What's it say?" I never really bothered to look at the Farmer's Almanac, but then again weather didn't really change all that much in southern California.

"We're looking at temperatures in the teens and snowy periods," Sookie told me. "So there's a chance we could get snowed in up there."

"Oh no. Whatever will we do to pass the time?" I shook my head.

"I might take up knitting," she shrugged.

"You knit, I'll whittle or read aloud by the fireplace," I smirked.

"Okay, Pa Kettle."

"Well, I can think of something else we could do by the fireplace, but you are currently very overdressed for it," I looked at her appraisingly.

"Yeah, about that…" Sookie said as the waitress was coming by to deliver our check. I lifted an eyebrow and she said, "We'll talk about it when we get back to your place."

"Is something wrong?" I asked her.

"No, nothing's wrong, it's just that I don't think we should be discussing our sex life in public," she said in a low tone.

After a quick battle over who was going to pay, which Sookie won since I bought the groceries the night before, we left the restaurant hand in hand and headed back to my apartment. Sookie paused on the sidewalk to catch a snowflake on her tongue, which I figured had to be pretty unsanitary, but she didn't seem to care. There was probably about a half an inch of snow on the ground. With any luck we'd get snowed in tonight and our classes would be canceled tomorrow, giving us another day to be lazy together.

I doubted I was going to be so lucky.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I didn't want the weekend to end but I knew it had to. I told myself the bright side to that was we were only three weeks away from winter break, and then we both had about a month off before we had to go back to school. Unfortunately, we would be having finals shortly after returning to school so we would probably have limited amounts of time for one another. My finals were pretty much in lab format so there wasn't much studying to be done. Either you knew your techniques or you didn't.

I followed him to his apartment and started to unzip my coat even before he had the door open. The second we walked in, I knew we both were going to have nightmares for at least the next three days. Stan was back and he wasn't alone. A tall, curvy brunette was propped up in his lap with her tongue down his throat and her hand down his pants.

I was never going to be the same ever again.

"Shit!" Stan pushed the girl back. I assumed it was Lindsay.

With her hand still in Stan's pants, her head whipped around and she smiled at us. Her lips looked a little swollen and I didn't even want to know how long… nope, didn't want to think about it either.

"You must be Eric and Sookie!" she said with excitement but still hadn't removed her hand from Stan's pants. Weird.

Eric and I looked at each other. Granted, this wasn't _the_ most awkward situation we could have walked in on, but it was damn weird.

"Yes, I'm Sookie. It's nice to meet you," I gave a wave since there was no fucking way I was going to shake her hand. Hell, next time I saw her I was going to be giving her Lysol wipes, or at least a bottle of Purell. I liked Stan, but not so much that I wanted any of his man butter on me.

"This is Lindsay," Stan clarified as if we hadn't already figured that out.

"I'm sure they got that already, Bunny," Lindsay scrunched her nose at him.

"Bunny?" Eric was instantly amused. Frankly, so was I.

"Lindsay, I told you not to call me that in front of other people," Stan glared but Lindsay just rolled her eyes.

"You'll get over it," she patted his chest with her free hand.

The other was _still_ in his pants. Seriously, what was that about?

"We didn't mean to intrude. We'll just get out of the way," I started to push Eric toward the hallway to give them some privacy. Obviously if Lindsay's hand hadn't come out of Stan's pants yet, it wasn't going to anytime soon.

"I want to hear how Stan got such a cute nickname," Eric argued, suddenly turning into an immovable brick wall.

"Oh it's the cutest story!" Lindsay said with a big, bright smile.

"Swear to God, Eric, if you don't let your girlfriend drag you back to your room…" Stan trailed off.

I had to admit, if Stan was desperate to keep the story under wraps, it had to be a good one. On the other hand, I didn't want to see what was in Lindsay's other hand.

"We can hear the story later. I'm sure they want to be alone," I looked up at Eric with wide eyes that told him to get moving.

"Yes, we want to be alone," Stan said pointedly.

"That's what bedrooms are for," Eric pointed out. "I thought we agreed no sexual activity in the common areas?"

If it wouldn't have meant outing myself, I would have pointed out the way I had welcomed him home the day before. I'm sure Lindsay was a great girl and all, but I wasn't really prepared to trade sex stories with her just yet. I tugged on Eric's hand and got him to follow me back to his bedroom. He closed the door behind him while I kicked off my shoes and tossed my coat onto the desk chair.

"Well that was comically awkward," Eric kicked off his own shoes.

"Why was her hand still in his pants?" I whispered and Eric laughed. "If someone had walked in on my giving you a hand release, you can bet your ass my hand would be out of your pants like yesterday."

"Well, maybe she's not as modest as you are, sweetheart," he kissed my head.

"Ugh, I need a shower," I shivered and headed for the bathroom to turn the water on.

Eric followed me, of course, after turning on the iPod in his bedroom. I didn't know what he had planned for our shower other than getting cleaned up, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. We undressed each other while we waited for the water to get warm.

"So what did you want to talk about at the diner?" he asked once we were standing under the spray.

"I saw my doctor on Friday," I let my fingers trace the lines and ridges of his abs, "I started on the shot."

Eric smiled at me and asked, "How does that work, exactly?"

"I go to my doctor every three months for a new shot," I shrugged.

"Well, yeah, okay, but I mean are there any side effects?"

"There are a few, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons, and once we feel comfortable about not using condoms anymore we won't have to stop in the middle of things to get one," I reminded him.

Eric had a few more questions and I was actually touched he was so concerned about what I was doing. He explained that he appreciated what I was willing to do for _us_, since I wasn't really going on the shot for just myself. I wanted to wait until the medicine had time to kick in, but figured we would be good to go by New Years.

We mostly just cleaned up while we were in the shower, which surprised me, but I think maybe walking in on Lindsay and Stan had affected him more than Eric wanted to admit. Once we were clean we got out of the shower and dried off. I was going to have to go home later that night because I needed to do laundry and a little grocery shopping of my own for the following week.

The apartment was silent, leaving us to wonder if Stan and Lindsay had left. Eric ventured out first since he was dressed before me. I went to the bathroom to comb my hair and give him a bit of a head start. "Coast is clear!" he called from the front of the apartment.

I breathed a sigh of relief and when I was done combing my hair I joined him in the kitchen. Eric was sitting at the bar writing up a grocery list. I was happy to see he was buying better food than he was when we first started seeing each other. We liked cooking together. He learned something from me and we always had fun doing it. A glance at the clock told me I had maybe an hour before I needed to head home.

I walked over to where Eric was sitting and wrapped my arms around him from behind. The steady rise and fall of his back when he breathed was nice. If only there was time for a nap…

"Are you sure you have to go home tonight?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Unfortunately. I have to get my house in order," I picked my head up. "I close tomorrow tonight though, so I can come by and see you afterward."

"How about I meet you down there and we go back to your place?"

"Are you sure? You have early class on Tuesday. I don't want to keep you up late," I stretched up and kissed his chin.

"I'm sure. Besides, if I'm going to be forced to walk in on more of Stan being molested by his girlfriend, getting up a little earlier than usual is a small price to pay," Eric turned around, "especially if that means I get to sleep with you."

"Smooth talker," I kissed back when his lips touched mine.

* * *

><p><strong>So how do you like that? Sookie's on birth control. Eric's still dodging the Sophie-Anne issue. For shame on him. What do y'all think of Lindsay? When I first wrote her into this story Scribeninja was all WTF, Meg? It was pretty hilarious since the real life Lindsay is essentially nothing like this. Scribe was getting all blushy face for the fictional version of herself. But the way I see it, this Lindsay is perfect for Stan since he's such a perverted little troll. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	27. Planning Ahead

Chapter 27: Planning Ahead

**SPOV**

"So you're leaving on the twenty-eighth departing from Milwaukee?" I wrote down my parents' flight information for their trip down to Louisiana.

"Yes, we're driving down early that morning with Jason, Amy and Gran," Dad told me.

My parents were as crazy about Amy as I was. If my brother screwed it up, there was going to be hell to pay. Not a Stackhouse in sight was going to have his back.

"And then you're coming back on January fifth?" I doodled on my paper. I couldn't draw anything real to save my life.

"Jason and Amy will be back on the fourth because he has to get back to work. I think your Mom, Gran and I will probably come back on the eighth," Dad paused for a moment before saying, "We would really like to meet Eric, if you think you can stay up there for that long."

"I don't go back to school until the sixteenth, so I'll run it by Eric. I'm not sure when school starts again for him."

Me going up north for the duration of their trip served several purposes but we all pretended the most important was to take care of Gran's old tabby cat, Tina. The cat was easily fifteen-years-old, and was about as crusty as an old man. She didn't want to be bothered much anymore, not that she'd ever wanted to be bothered to begin with. Still, she was used to having Gran around more often than not, so she needed some sort of company—to say nothing of fresh food, water and a clean litter box.

"Oh, and Jason's thinking about getting a puppy," Dad informed me.

"He better not get one before he leaves town! I am not going to spend my entire vacation cleaning up dog shit," I warned.

Knowing my brother he would love the playing part of having a puppy, but the housebreaking part would leave something to be desired. In spite of Mom and Gran's efforts, Jason himself was barely housebroken. Amy was a saint to put up with his slovenly habits. Seriously, if he cheated on her I was going to gut him with a rusty fish hook.

"I think he's waiting for spring," Dad said much to my relief, and probably to Dad's too.

"Thank goodness for small favors," I sighed.

We talked for a little while longer about how things had been since Thanksgiving. I was anxious for the break to start. Things were going well with Eric and it was getting harder and harder not to jump his bones every chance I got. If we made it through the first night in Wisconsin with our virginity intact, I would be amazed. Of course I didn't mention any of that stuff to Dad. We were close but not so close that I wanted to have a sex talk with him. That had been awkward enough when Bill Compton asked me to my first school dance back in junior high, and Dad proceeded to warn me about what perverts teenage boys could be. Like I didn't already know thanks to my foul mouth brother?

I think my parents were in severe boy slut denial where Jason was concerned. Did they really think he went from girl to girl because he didn't like the way one held his hand? Please. Mostly I think my parents hoped that karma wouldn't see me ending up with a guy like Jason. I was pretty sure they had held their breath all the way up until his twenty-first birthday, since he would be a full-fledged adult in the eyes of the law then. If he got a girl pregnant, he would be solely responsible for the welfare of the child.

Dad and I got off the phone just in time for the bathroom door to open. Seconds later my kitchen windows started to steam up. Eric was out of the shower. He came walking out with a towel wrapped around his waist and I grabbed the island to keep from pouncing on him. He was all wet and covered in tattoos.

He looked delicious.

"Good shower?" I smiled up at him.

"Yep," he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"I just got off the phone with Dad. My parents want to meet you when they get back from Louisiana, but they aren't getting in until the eighth, so I didn't make any promises."

"I start school again on the sixteenth, so if you want to stay a couple more days I'm fine with that," he opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Sweet. Then I will send Dad a quick text and let him know there'll be two more for supper," I winked at Eric while he chugged his drink.

"It's only fair since you're going to Missouri with me," he said when he stopped drinking.

We had discussed it over the last couple of days and I had agreed to go to Missouri for a couple of days before Christmas. I was a little nervous about meeting Eric's entire family, but he assured me it was going to be okay. If I could handle Pam, he promised me the rest of the family would be a piece of cake. Pam was like a younger version of his Granny. I was curious to see how they would be in the same room. I hadn't seen Pam since the day she decided to stick her nose in my business.

I was excited about going to Missouri. I had been there once when my father took me to a Brewers/Cardinals game when I was eleven and saw _A League of Their Own_ for the first time. For a whole nine weeks I decided I wanted to be a girl baseball player. Then I discovered the Food Network and my dreams of being a baseball player vanished. I'd wanted to be a chef ever since.

"The tree refused to cooperate," I jutted my chin toward the little Christmas tree in my living room. I had been fighting it into the stand when Dad called to update me on flight information.

"I'll get dressed and we'll finish it," Eric backed out of the room and went to put some clothes on.

I liked him better in the towel.

Claudine let me store my Christmas stuff down in her basement since she had more room down there than she needed for her own things. She had a big fake tree, and every year she bought new decorations to go with her holiday theme. Last year the theme had been snow. This year it was stars. I couldn't imagine how much money she spent on all of the decorations she used, but at least she donated everything when she was finished.

"Okay," Eric clapped his hands loudly as he walked into the room in a pair of track pants and a t-shirt. He still looked yummy, but the towel… well, it was easier to lose. "So how do we do this, exactly?"

"You've never put up a live tree before?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

"We decorate palm trees in California," he shrugged and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be a jerk," I hefted the little tree into place. It was maybe four feet tall, which to me was little.

"My parents always had a fake one," Eric explained and crouched down.

"I've never had a fake tree—ever. And I never plan to either, so I hope real trees aren't a deal breaker for you," I handed Eric one of the metal doohickeys that was supposed to keep the tree in place.

Christmas music was playing quietly while we worked. I never understood when I was younger why my parents were so OCD about putting things on the tree in order, but now that I was decorating my own, I found myself doing the same thing. It was really fucking scary to catch yourself falling into routines like those, and I wondered what Eric had inherited from his own parents.

"Do you ever catch yourself doing something your parents always do that you didn't think you ever would?" I asked as I knelt down to keep working on the lights.

"Sometimes," Eric chuckled, "but for me it's usually more about breaking habits than it is picking up new ones. With Dad being in the military everything was done with such perfection and precision. We wouldn't get in trouble, necessarily, if we messed up, but it was frowned upon. You know, depending on what you fucked up, of course."

"Well yeah," I laughed and wondered how Jason would have fared in a house like that growing up. My guess was that it wouldn't have worked very well for him. "How old were you when your Dad went off to Desert Storm?"

"I was still a baby, a little under a year old," Eric said and carefully lifted the tree up onto the end table I planned to keep it on for the duration of the season.

"How long was he there for?"

"The whole war didn't even last for seven months. But, since Dad was doing recon back then, his platoon was one of the first on the ground over there, gathering up intelligence and scouting locations and all that stuff," Eric explained.

"Like the Navy SEAL teams?" I suggested.

"Don't _ever_ let Dad hear you say that," he shook his head. "He is a Marine, not a Squid."

"Oh boy," I laughed quietly. "What's the deal with that anyway?"

"The hatred between military branches?" Eric asked and I nodded. "You'll have to ask Dad about that."

The devilish smile on Eric's face told me I would be in for quite an informative, or at least colorful, answer. We worked steadily on the tree, decorating it together and singing along horribly to the Christmas music that was playing. We capped off the day with the beef stew that had been simmering on my stovetop since earlier in the day and sat down together to watch the animated version of _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_. I refused to see the live action version of the movie. Jim Carrey is great and all but give me Boris Karloff any day of the week.

I had planned on giving Eric a key to my house as part of his Christmas present, but since I had to work in the morning and he looked so peaceful lying there, I left it for him on the island in the kitchen along with a note.

_Mornin' Babe,_

_You looked so cute where you were I didn't want to wake you up and force you out into the cold. So I left a key here for you. I was planning to give it to you for Christmas, but it's yours now. Lock up when you leave and call me later._

_Love you xoxo,_

_Sookie_

Snow was coming down lightly as I walked into Goblins. I did my usual early morning opening stuff, and even threw together a quick batch of maple bacon scones. I tried to do something special for Sunday mornings since we got so many stragglers who came in for a cup of coffee and a pastry. I started up the electric fireplace, and let the Nutcracker play from my iPod.

I was just about to go glaze the scones when there was a knock at the door. I looked up to see Pam standing there, and I was shocked to see her. It wasn't even 8:00 on a Sunday morning. What the hell was she doing out and about already?

"Pam, what are you doing here?" I asked after letting her in.

"I wanted to clear the air with you a little. Eric told me you're going to be coming back to Missouri so I thought maybe it would be best if we talked," Pam unbuttoned her coat and hung it on the rack.

"Um, okay. Can I get you some coffee?" I offered and headed for the counter. My bucket 'o latte needed a warm up anyway.

"Black, please," she said as she followed me. "So how've you been?"

"Busy, mostly. Between work, school and Eric my hands are pretty full right now. How about you? How's work?" Small talk with Pam was awkward. Very, very awkward.

"The usual," she shrugged and leaned against the counter.

Pam was dressed surprisingly casual, at least for Pam. Her hair was down and appeared to be unstyled. She was dressed in a pair of jeans that I was sure were probably designer, and she was wearing a soft pink sweater. No fancy jewelry and she didn't seem to have makeup on either. Pam was a fucking knockout. I kinda hated her a little right then.

"So look, I suck at apologizing. I don't do it very often, but I'm going to now because I shouldn't have stuck my nose in where it didn't belong. You and Amelia are big girls, and are perfectly capable of cleaning up your own messes. Can I just claim occupational hazard on this one?" Pam asked while I poured her coffee.

"I'll let it slide this time, Pam, but please don't make a habit of it," I handed over her coffee.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best," she said and that was good enough for me.

With that settled, I brought Pam back to the kitchen with me while I glazed the scones. Without asking, she plucked one from the cooling rack and started munching on it. "Sookie, this is delicious."

"Thank you," I smiled over at her and started to crumble the bacon.

"No, really, you should sell these," Pam suggested.

"Uh, what do you think I'm doing here, Pam?" I snickered as I sprinkled the bacon.

"I mean you should open a place of your own and sell this stuff," Pam licked some of the glaze from her thumb.

"That's the plan," I sighed and went to wash my hands to get the bacon grease off of them.

"Well let me know when you do. I will happily invest," she winked at me.

"You have that kind of money?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"By the time you're ready to do it I will," Pam said confidently. "Sookie, I rock balls at what I do. A few more years and I'll be going out on my own, and then I'll be unstoppable."

I had to laugh at that. No doubt Pam was telling the truth. She would more than likely mow down anyone in her path who tried to stop her from getting what she wanted. Pam wasn't really one for giving up when she set her mind on something. Pam stuck around for about an hour before deciding it was time to head out and finish up her shopping. I sent her with another scone for later, and then started on my side work.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I woke up with a smile on my face, expecting to reach out and be able to gather Sookie closer to me. Instead all I felt was cold sheets. Bummer. I opened my eyes and looked to see that Sookie was most definitely gone. The alarm clock clearly read that it was almost ten in the morning. Shit. Had I been sleeping that deeply that she hadn't been able to wake me up?

I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. Being stuck in her house all day wouldn't be so bad, but it would be kind of annoying for her to have to come all the way back here just to lock up so we could go back to my place. We had another Christmas tree to put up. Stan didn't really care too much about it, and to be honest, I didn't either. It seemed like it would be more of a mess than anything else, but Sookie was insistent that Stan and I at least have a tree up.

Besides, I had come to figure out that I liked the smell of pine trees. I could smell the tree in the living room all over the house and it had a warm, welcoming aroma to it. Paired with the smell of the hot cocoa Sookie had made the night before and I'd felt like I was trapped in a modernized version of a Norman Rockwell painting. Although, when good ole Norm was painting, he probably didn't consider that the girl he was painting would end up getting fingered by her boyfriend until she screamed his name, but no one's perfect.

When I got to the kitchen the first thing that caught my eye on the island was a note and a piece of silver. A key. Sookie had left me a key. I read her note twice, grinning like a jackass the whole time. Giving me a key to her house was a pretty big step, and it felt good to know she trusted me not to abuse the privilege of having that sort of acceptance in her life. I had planned to do the same thing. We were constantly coming and going from each other's places; it only made sense for us to have easier access to them.

And since my place was so close to Goblins, she could go there after her classes instead of going back across the city to her house if she didn't want to. The thought of coming back from class to find Sookie asleep on my bed made me both happy, and incredibly horny. I understood why Sookie wanted to wait a little longer before sleeping together, but stopping with the physical stuff was getting harder and harder to do. I wanted her and I didn't try to hide it.

As much as Sookie despised them, she let me keep frozen waffles in her freezer and I popped a few into the toaster. I didn't see what the big deal was, but then again, food wasn't as important to me as it was to her. I needed it to live, but I didn't live for it the way she did. All the same, I respected her passion and tried not to needle her too much about taking it so seriously. She didn't give me shit for my staunch opinion that Kindles and e-readers were the devil.

Reading just isn't the same if you aren't flipping pages.

After my waffles I cleaned up and took a shower. I made sure to make Sookie's bed for her, something she rarely ever did herself, and then put my shiny new key on my ring. Once I was satisfied the house was in order, I locked up and headed across town to my own apartment. Sookie was getting off work at one, so I had maybe a half hour before she would be showing up.

Back in my bedroom I sorted out my laundry and pulled my sheets off the bed since they needed washing too. The apartment was quiet, suggesting Stan and Lindsay had taken their sexcapades elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, I like Lindsay, but the apartment wasn't really big enough for the four of us sometimes. Sookie and I mostly stayed sequestered back in my bedroom, only coming out for meals and drinks. Stan and Lindsay usually occupied the living room, unless they were fooling around.

More than once I had been woken up by noises from Stan's bedroom in the middle of the night. Lindsay was definitely a screamer. Once I had my laundry in the washer, I took a look at the mess in the kitchen and shook my head. I had been gone since Friday night and the place was a fucking disaster. I could tell by the sheer number of Code Red bottles that Stan had been alone for the bulk of the weekend. Lindsay was generally pretty neat, and I considered her a saint for cleaning up after Stan.

I seriously thought he was more interested in having a maid than a girlfriend sometimes. No way would Sookie spend all of her time cleaning up after me the way Lindsay did Stan, but that was on them to deal with. My big problem was having my girlfriend walk into a pig pen, and I didn't want Sookie cleaning up Stan's mess. She and I had done it before and it had to stop.

The apartment was mine. My name was on the lease and I paid the rent. Stan paid most of the utilities, but the apartment itself was mine. We needed to have a talk about his housekeeping habits if he was going to stay beyond the end of the school year. Then again, by that point Sookie and I might decide we want to live together. That would mean deciding if we wanted to stay in my place, go to hers, or find someplace new altogether. My apartment was probably ideal, but that would mean kicking Stan out.

He would probably understand why we wanted our own space, but I felt guilty about throwing him out in favor of my girlfriend. But that was growing up, wasn't it? I debated over whether or not to clean up the mess, and decided to leave it. If I kept cleaning up after Stan he wasn't going to learn his lesson.

I was cleaning up my bathroom when my cell rang. Sookie was calling. "Hello?"

"Hey, I'm out of work. Are you home or at my place?" she asked.

"Home. I got your key. Expect a very detailed thank you when you get here," I warned her.

"Remind me to thank your mother for teaching you manners," Sookie laughed.

"This has nothing to do with manners," I said when what I really wanted to tell her was that I wanted to rip her clothes off and keep her in bed with me for oh, the rest of our lives.

"Well, I'm headed your way. I'll see you soon," she said.

"I'll be waiting," I promised and hung up.

* * *

><p><strong>The adorableness with these two knows no bounds, obviously. So now you're in the know about their plans for the holidays. I can't wait for you guys to meet the rest of Eric's crazy ass family. I think his Granny is one of my favorite characters I've ever written. She's up there with Johan (from Hot For Teacher) and Luke (from Lovin Touchin Squeezin) for the Blunt Randomness award. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	28. Waiting

Chapter 28: Waiting

**EPOV**

I couldn't get enough of her. The breathy sighs and the way she grabbed onto my hair since there weren't any sheets for her to grab instead… damn, it was addictive. Her thighs were warm and wrapped around my head. If she let me I would gladly spend all night between them, seeing how many different ways I could make her come. The second Sookie had walked into the apartment I had pulled her back to my bedroom. She hadn't even gotten her coat off before I was going after her jeans.

I told her I was going to thoroughly thank her, and I meant it.

She had come twice already, and I was building toward her third release, knowing that would probably be it for a while. She was so wet and it took all the control I had not to rip off my own pants and drive myself into her. I was hard to the point of it being painful. When Sookie came a third time, her entire body went limp.

"Are you trying to kill me, Northman?" she gasped for air.

"I could keep going," I meant that too, and she knew it.

"I think I'm finished for now," she giggled and her legs slid off my shoulders.

I pushed myself up so I was standing between Sookie's parted knees. I bent over and kissed her hard. Her arms wrapped around my neck and when I stood up she came up with me. One of her hands moved between us and slipped into my pants. I set her down so I could get her shirt off, since it was somewhat of a crime she had remained as covered up as she was.

Of course that meant Sookie had to take her hand out of my pants so I could get her shirt off, but I didn't mind since that meant she could get my pants off at the same time. There was a small pile of clothing on the floor that only got bigger when I kicked my pants off. Sookie slid off the bed and dropped to her knees in front of me. She looked up at me with a bit of mischief in her eyes that would have made me nervous if she had a habit of doing things I didn't like.

"I've been doing some reading," Sookie informed me, letting her hands move around the lower half of my body.

"Need a test subject?" I smirked at her.

She nodded and kept her eyes on mine while she leaned forward and licked the underside of my cock, pausing at the spot where the head met the shaft. The flicking of her tongue there felt pretty fucking awesome, and I told her so. I didn't know what she had read, but she had certainly learned a lot from it. I was a lucky bastard.

Her mouth was so hot and wet, and she had perfected the stroking of her hand. I wondered, after a while, how she was able to keep going since I was sure her mouth had to be getting sore. As much as I enjoyed going down on her, my tongue was a little worn out from all of the activity it had been doing. Eventually she pushed me over to the bed and had me sit. We were in it for the long haul, although I didn't think I was going to be able to last much longer. She had already been at it for ten minutes.

Sookie looked up at me with hooded, lusty eyes and kept stroking me with her hand when she said, "Your cock feels good in my mouth. I can't wait to see what it feels like here." Her other hand moved between her legs and when she touched herself she moaned.

Her head dipped down again and she took me in her mouth. She kept her eyes fixed on mine while she sucked and touched herself at the same time. The moans made for amazing vibration around my cock, and even though I tried to hang on, a gentle tug on my balls proved to be my undoing. Sookie continued to suck me though my orgasm, and when she finally released my cock she kissed the tip before sitting back on her heels.

"Marry me," I laughed, trying to catch my breath.

"I take it to mean that was a successful experiment?" she looked very pleased with herself.

"Baby, anytime you want to practice, just let me know," I flopped back on the bed. I couldn't move.

Sookie popped up and lay down beside me. We were half asleep when Stan and Lindsay burst into the apartment. Thankfully I remembered to close and lock my bedroom door before I pounced on Sookie, so neither of us had to get up right away. We were a bit of a mess, though, so after taking a little power nap we got up and took a shower just to wash off.

I moved my clothes from the washer to the dryer while Sookie got dressed. We had to go out and pick up the tree and figure out where we were going to put it in the living room. A little reorganizing was in order, and thankfully Stan and Lindsay had gone to his room. After a short debate over where the tree should go, Sookie and I headed out to a little lot that had sprung up at a gas station, of all places, just a few blocks over.

The fake tree my parents put up was always enormous. The year before I left for college they had bought one that came pre-lit, so there wasn't a whole lot to it. While I definitely understood the attraction to live trees, there was something to be said for the convenience of a fake one. As we walked to the lot, Sookie went off on a pretty epic rant about white trees.

"What's wrong with a white tree?" I asked her and she looked at me like I had four heads.

"The list of what's right about them is way shorter," she shook her head. "First of all, trees like that don't grow in nature. Second of all, anyone who thinks it looks 'snow covered' has obviously never set foot in the woods in the winter. Third, they're fucking hideous. To me they symbolize everything that is wrong with the commercialization of Christmas. They just don't look right. Ever. I don't care what you decorate them with. They look cheap, tacky and just plain gross and you will _never_, I repeat _never_, see one of those monstrosities in my house."

I can't say that I understood some of Sookie's pet peeves and grievances, but it was adorable the way she got all fired up when she talked about them. We looked at the selection of trees and found one about the same size the one we had picked up for her house the day before. Thankfully the tree wasn't too heavy and we weren't the only ones carrying a tree home with us. When you thought about it, it looked kind of crazy that we were carrying a tree into the apartment, but I knew it would look good once we got it all set up.

Unfortunately, Stan and Lindsay must have thought we were leaving for the night since Lindsay was standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but one of Stan's sweaters and a pair of underwear. Stan really needed to consider getting his own place. We tried to ignore it, but it's hard to avoid a woman almost six feet tall standing in your kitchen in a sweater that doesn't cover a whole hell of a lot.

"You're back," she said and at least slid behind a counter to give herself a little cover.

"Sookie pretty much always sleeps over on Sunday," I informed her.

"Oh," she grabbed one of the towels hanging from the bar on the oven. "I didn't think you were coming back."

Yep, awkward fucking turtle.

"We're going to put up the tree if you and Stan want to give us a hand," Sookie offered.

"Oh, uh, I'll run it by Stan. Excuse me," she shielded herself with the towel and backed down the hall to Stan's room.

"This shit must end," I muttered and held up the tree while Sookie went to get the stand for it.

"I think it's sweet," she shrugged with a goofy smile on her face.

"Hey, I'm all for them getting some, but consider the roommates, you know?" I lifted the tree and put it in the stand.

Sookie took over holding it in place while I got down to tighten the bolts to hold it upright. We got out the multi-colored lights I had picked out while we were at the store a few days ago. All of my ornaments were generic and the same as anyone would have on their tree. Sookie despised tinsel, but I loved it. Lindsay and Stan stayed in his bedroom, which might have been for the best. It took a little over an hour, but we got the tree all decorated.

"Come here," Sookie reached for my hand. She was lying underneath the tree, staring up at it.

I got down on the floor next to her so our heads were touching. It was a pretty cool sight to see. Assuming none of the tree needles fell in my eye, anyway. My head turned toward hers and I said, "Thank you for making me do this."

She laughed and said, "It's Christmas. You should have a tree."

The sincerity in her eyes was endearing. All I wanted to do was roll over on top of her and maul her right there under the tree, but I slowed down. I really needed to get myself under control, and fast.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I loved Eric, but being around him was overwhelming sometimes. He didn't come right out and say it, but I knew the waiting for sex thing was really starting to get to him. Honestly, it was starting to get to me, too. I told myself just a couple more weeks and we would be okay. We probably would have been fine with just a condom, but I knew I would be more relaxed if I had something else in place in case the condom failed us for some reason. They broke all the time and since Eric and I were both newbies at using them we were more likely to tear a couple before we got it right.

Trying to figure out what to get Eric for Christmas was a bit of a stumper. My first thought was a tattoo, but I thought maybe that was something we could do together if we made it to our one year anniversary. I spent hours and hours racking my brain, trying to figure out the perfect gift. I didn't want to do anything too big, but I had to give him something other than sex. Although, sex probably would have been more than enough for him.

It was while I was stretched out on Eric's bed, trying to take a nap before work one afternoon when I noticed the guitar in his closet. I didn't go in there very often, and I had seen it before, but I had never seen Eric play it. I did a little detective work via Stan and found out Eric didn't know how to play. He had been given the guitar by one of their former neighbors when he decided to pull a Chris McCandless and give up everything to tramp around the country in search of enlightenment.

I was familiar with the story of Chris McCandless, and while I could appreciate the intent of what he had been doing, it seemed like an awfully extreme way to go about it. The neighbor, according to Stan, didn't have the ultimate goal of making his way to Alaska and living in such extreme elements, but it still seemed a little nuts to me. Then again, I had spent most of my life living out in the woods. Granted I had running water and electricity in my house, but the beauty of nature lost its luster when you were freezing your ass off for hours on end.

All the same, finding out that Eric didn't know how to play the guitar gave me an idea. I did some research online and talked to a few people who played guitar before selecting an instructor at a school over on Michigan Avenue across from Millennium Park. I booked Eric ten lessons with Terry Bellefleur, an accomplished musician who played with some of the best folk artists back in the late 60's and early 70's. I was excited about the gift, and could only hope Eric would be as well.

Time moved quickly and before either of us knew it, Christmas break was upon us. We were supposed to be leaving for Missouri early Monday morning. Assuming weather and traffic were in our favor, we would arrive at his grandparents' house before dinnertime. I went home from class on Friday afternoon to do my laundry and pack. I had bought a new dress to wear for dinner with his family. I was careful not to pick something too sexy, but nothing too mature for me either. I wanted to look classy without misrepresenting myself.

I was in the process of going over my checklist to make sure I had everything when I heard the kitchen door open and Eric call out to me. "I'm back here!" I shouted back at him.

I heard the thump of his shoes hitting the floor and then the zipper on his jacket. The city had been hit with a nasty freeze over the last couple of days, making getting out of bed a chore, never mind leaving the house. Temperatures were getting down to the single digits, and that wasn't even the worst of what we would see before winter was over. My suitcase was propped up on the bed, ready to be zipped and loaded into my car. My dress was in its bag and hanging on the back of my door. The only things left were my toiletries, but I couldn't pack that until the last minute.

"Been busy?" Eric smiled at me as he walked into my room and flopped onto my bed.

"Yessir, but I'm all packed, which means I'm all yours," I leaned down and kissed him hello.

Best part of my day.

"Good," he grabbed my hand all ninja-like, and yanked me down on top of him. "Granny Char has been going out of her skull for the last couple of days thinking you're going to back out on me."

I snorted and said, "Well maybe your other girlfriends were great big chickens, but I'm going. I just spent the last two and a half hours doing laundry and packing for this. Not to mention, I bought a new dress."

"Oh really?" Eric asked as I straddled his waist.

"Yessir, but you can't see it until we have dinner with your family," I stuck my tongue out at him.

He growled and said, "I bet I can persuade you otherwise," he shifted me on top of him, rubbing himself against me.

I moaned and my eyes closed. How did he go from zero to 'are you sure you want to be a virgin' in less than ten seconds? He was driving me crazy and my will power was starting to fade.

I sighed and said, "Please don't." My voice sounded heavier, sadder than I wanted it to.

Eric stopped immediately and his hands found mine, our fingers lacing together. "Hey, what's wrong? You know I was playing, right?"

"Yeah, I know," I nodded but couldn't open my eyes just yet. I needed that little bit of a shield between us while I got my head on straight.

"So what's going on in there?" he squeezed his hands to mine.

"I feel like I'm giving you all these mixed signals. One minute we're talking about birth control and all I can think about is how badly I want you and the next my body just freezes up. I start thinking too much and I just lose it," I explained, my eyes still closed.

"What are you thinking about when you get all tripped up?" he asked gently, his thumbs rubbing the insides of my wrists. It was soothing.

"Everything. Nothing."

"The easy answer is to stop thinking, but I know that won't happen," he lifted my right hand and kissed my knuckles. "Look at me, Sookie," he implored and I opened my eyes.

"I don't want you to think that I've changed my mind," I told him and he smiled at me.

"I know you haven't. You've always been straight with me."

"And this is too important to not talk about when something isn't right," I continued for him.

"I get nervous about it too. You're not alone with that. Is there a part of me that doesn't want to wait anymore? Yes. I won't lie to you about that. Am I going to leave you because of that? Hell no. I'm waiting for you because I know it'll be worth it when you're ready, whether it's tomorrow, next week, six months or two years from now."

There were perfect boyfriends and then there was Eric, who put them all to shame.

"I'm not going anywhere, Sookie," he promised me.

"I know," I nodded and leaned down to rest my head on his shoulder. He let go of my hands and wrapped his arms around me. The gentle kiss on my forehead meant the world to me. It was all I needed.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawwww he's such a good boyfriend. They'll be arriving in Missouri next chapter which means more fun time with Granny. I love that old broad. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	29. In a Small Midwestern Town

Chapter 29: In a Small Midwestern Town

**EPOV**

We pulled into Granny and Pop's driveway at a little after four in the afternoon on Monday. It had been a long drive but we were fortunate the predicted snowstorm that was supposed to hit St. Louis had held off until we passed it. We weren't too far from the border of Kansas. Granny and Pops lived just outside of Joplin, and they had been lucky they didn't lose their house during that F5 tornado that had come through the previous spring.

Granny and Pop lived on twenty acres of what used to be farmland. In addition to the main house, there was a small cottage that was used mostly for guest housing when family came in from out of town. It would definitely be used over the next couple of days with all of the family that would be coming and going from the house. There was a barn not too far away that had been converted into an enormous workshop and storage area for Pop's business. I was anxious to get out and show Sookie around before it was pitch black out but I didn't think there would be enough time for that.

Sookie had driven the first half of the trip. We had stopped in Springfield at D'Arcy's Pint to try their famous horseshoes. We had seen it on _Man vs. Food_ during one of the marathons Sookie had insisted we watch since it was either that or _1,000 Ways to Die_. I managed to finish my food, which didn't surprise Sookie at all. She only got about half way through hers before giving up. In all fairness, the "sandwiches" came on platters and it really was an obscene amount of food to give a single person.

"Nice house," Sookie smiled over at me.

"It's bigger than it looks," I promised her.

Granny and Pop's house didn't look like much. The barn in the back looked enormous comparatively, and considering there would be upwards of thirty people crammed into the house at one time I could see why Sookie would be freaking out a little. Thankfully my Uncles Jimmy and Robby lived nearby because they had nine kids between them. That was a lot of bodies we didn't have to worry about finding beds for.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Elena were driving in from Nebraska. Uncle Joe was a trainer for the Huskers. Aunt Elena was still at home since their youngest son, Logan, was still in pre-school. Then there was Uncle John who had moved up to St. Louis and had his own law firm up there. Aunt Lisa was a lawyer, too, but was taking time away from the practice to raise the kids. It seemed like she was always pregnant for some reason, despite the age gaps between their five kids. Well, except for the oldest two since they were twins.

All in all, I had nineteen cousins on my dad's side of the family alone, and I wouldn't be surprised if Aunt Elena had another one before calling it quits. I was pretty sure Aunt Lisa and Uncle John weren't done yet either. I tried to imagine what my parents would do if they had five or six kids to chase after, and… nope, couldn't even see it in my mind. Mom would have gone insane and Dad would have stayed in the military, that's for damn sure.

Sookie and I got out of the car and I reached for her hand as we walked to the front door. There was an entryway when we first walked into the house, but the first big room we walked into was the kitchen. I had no idea what Granny was cooking, but it made my mouth water. My nose told me there was taffy apple pie somewhere in the house and I intended to find it and destroy it as soon as I got the chance. If I was lucky, Sookie would be able to crack the recipe.

"Hello? Anybody home?" I called out; knowing damn well Granny and Pops were around the house somewhere.

"Eric, is that you?" Granny called out from somewhere deeper in the house.

"Yeah, Granny; it's me. Sookie's here too!" I shouted back while we took off our shoes and coats.

Sookie was a little fidgety, a sign of her nerves, as she hung her coat on the many hooks by the door. I leaned over and kissed her cheek, hoping she would calm down a little. Granny got a little overzealous sometimes with new people, which Sookie knew, but she was harmless. She was just used to our big, loud family and treated everyone like they were a part of it.

"Come on," I squeezed Sookie's hand and led her into the kitchen. "Where you at, Granny?"

"The office. This damn printer is about as useful as tits on a turtle!" she shouted and Sookie giggled beside me.

"I think I like her already," she whispered.

If she liked that, she was going _love_ Granny when she really got going.

We walked through the kitchen and dining room to a hallway that led to the sunroom/office. For being in their seventies, my grandparents were pretty technologically savvy. It was necessary because of the business. Granny had been doing the books for as long as I could remember, although she was starting to teach my cousin Colleen how to do it, since Granny was getting tired of it. Eventually she wasn't going to be able to do it anymore and someone needed to be up to speed on what to do.

"Hey Granny," I said when we got into the office.

She was sitting at the desk with her glasses perched on her nose and her hair curled in its usual style at her shoulders. Granny hadn't changed much in my lifetime, and I suspected she was going to maintain the same hairstyle she'd had for most of her own life. For as long as I could remember her hair was like a big, blonde helmet. It worked for her, though, and if there was one thing Granny preferred, it was keeping things simple.

"I'm glad y'all could make it," she smiled and set her eyes on Sookie. "Well, well, aren't you a pretty little thing?"

"Granny, this is Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie, this is my Granny," I introduced them.

Granny got up from behind the desk and came around to give Sookie a hug, which Sookie accepted. "It's nice to meet you, honey. We heard a lot about you at Thanksgiving."

"It's nice to meet you, too. Eric talks about you a lot," Sookie said politely and then offered Granny the scones she made the night before. "My Gran always said to never show up empty handed, so I thought you might like these. Eric says you like baking."

Granny opened the container that held at least fifty mini scones and she grinned when the smell of them hit her. I had tried one and knew they were delicious.

"I do enjoy baking, and these smell fantastic. Eric said you're a baker too?"

"Yes ma'am," Sookie smiled brightly.

"Ugh, cut it out with that ma'am business. You call me Charlotte or Granny just like everyone else around here and we'll get along fine," Granny winked.

"Okay," Sookie blushed a bit.

We made small talk about the drive and told Granny about the horseshoes we'd had for lunch in Springfield. Granny gave Sookie a tour of the house and I followed along, listening to the stories Granny told as we walked along. I'd heard most of them, but there were a few that were new to me. There were four bedrooms total in the house, but only a bath and a half, which was going to make showering everyone interesting.

"Eric, will you run along to the barn and get Ed for me? I tried calling him on the intercom when I heard y'all drive up but his hearing ain't what it was," Granny said to me.

"If you promise to behave yourself while I'm gone," I teased her.

"Me? Never," Granny snorted.

"I'll be fine," Sookie promised, and I could tell she had relaxed a little. I was grateful for it.

"I'll be right back," I kissed the side of her head and then went to the entryway to get my shoes back on.

Granny and Sookie were in the kitchen, talking a blue streak about cooking and baking. It seemed Granny may have finally met her match where the kitchen was concerned. Granny had a lot of talents, but she was especially proud of her culinary skills. I wondered how long it would be before Sookie was giving Granny proper knife skill lessons.

I found Pops out in the barn, working on what looked like a cabinet or desk of some kind. He had the belt sander out and was working on smoothing down a piece of what smelled like hickory. The first rule of power tools was never sneaking up on someone, so I made sure to walk around to where Pops could see me. I didn't even have to say anything before he looked up and spotted me.

"Look what the cat dragged in," he said over the squeal and hum of the sander.

"Granny sent me out here to drag you in the house," I told him and it was obvious he was trying to read my lips.

Just how bad had his hearing gotten? Years of being around power tools and various pieces of construction machinery had to have taken their toll on the old man. He turned off the sander and set it on the workbench a few feet away. He blew the sawdust off his project and asked, "What do you think?"

"What is it?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"New hutch for Carol. She's been after Jimmy for the last three months to make her one but he's been too busy," Pops ran his hand over the wood.

"Looks good," I nodded.

"Won't be done in time for Christmas, I suspect, but it's the thought that counts."

"I'm sure Aunt Carol will love it," I agreed with him. "You leaving it natural or staining it?"

"Neither. She wants it painted," Pops said with a grimace.

"Ouch," I shook my head, admiring the grain of the natural wood.

"You know it chaps my ass, but I'm hoping if she takes a look at it before I put the paint on it she'll change her mind," Pops shook his head.

If anyone else asked him to paint a beautiful piece of wood like the one he was working with, the old man would probably have a stroke while he ranted and raved about all the reasons why that was the dumbest fucking idea ever. Frankly, I would be forced to agree with him. Why choose such a nice piece of wood if you were just going to cover it over with paint? I didn't know much of anything about construction or carpentry, but I had eyes.

"So where's that girlfriend of yours?" Pops asked while he brushed the sawdust off of himself.

"In the kitchen with Granny," I shrugged and Pops looked at me like I was mildly retarded.

"You let that poor girl alone with Charlie? You got an avocado pit for a brain in there, son?" Pops shook his head at me.

"They'll be fine. They were swapping recipes when I left."

Pops snorted and headed for the door. "And I bet the second you left Granny was grilling her on birth control."

She wouldn't, would she? Even Granny wouldn't… oh hell.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I loved Eric's grandparents' house. It had all sorts of country charm that reminded me of being home with my parents. The expanse of land that surrounded their house was breathtaking. The house itself was a little on the small side, and I found it interesting that it was sloped on one side. Eric was big enough to begin with but he looked like a giant once we stepped into the kitchen. His grandmother's kitchen reminded me a lot of Gran's with all the white, and the gleaming wall mounted sink I suspected had been there since the house was built.

After a tour of the house I wondered how all of Eric's family was going to fit. Thankfully not everyone was staying with his grandparents, but geez, it was a lot of people. I couldn't imagine having that many cousins running around. I guess I was going to find out what that was like in the next couple of days, though.

I liked Charlotte immediately. There was something about her that reminded me of Gran, but Charlotte definitely cranked it up a couple of notches. She had a big personality, which I supposed was necessary with such a large family. I also suspected that being the mother of five sons meant having to be a bit more of a hard ass than if she'd had five daughters. The family pictures hanging on the walls told me all five of her sons were the same size as their father. All of them had blond hair and blue eyes.

A family of living, breathing Dresden dolls.

"So, Sookie, where are you from?" Charlotte asked me while she uncovered one of the pots on her stove to stir what was inside. It smelled like heaven.

"A small town in Wisconsin just outside of Wausau," I told her.

"And your parents? What do they do?"

"Daddy owns an auto garage in town and Mom is in real estate. My parents own a pretty large chunk of land up there."

"Is that right? Farmland?"

"No, ma'am, they just like nature. My grandparents used to run a resort a little farther north and so Dad grew up out in the sticks. He's a bit of a jack of all trades," I explained.

"What about siblings?"

"I just have a brother. He's five years older than me."

"Do you have a big family?"

"No, I don't. My mother was an only child and both of her parents have passed. My brother isn't married yet. My Dad has a sister, but she's living down in Louisiana to be closer to her daughter, son-in-law and grandson. My Gran, Dad's mom, lives on the property with my parents. They've got a couple hundred acres," I explained and Charlotte's eyes went wide.

"Holy Hannah," she muttered.

"It's a big place," I nodded.

"Sounds like. So Eric tells me you want to open your own restaurant someday?" Charlotte put water on for tea, and plated up a couple of the maple scones I'd made.

We went over to the kitchen table and I was telling her what I had hoped would someday happen after finishing culinary school when we heard voices coming from back by the sunroom. I paused my story, but Charlotte was having none of that.

"Continue, dear," she insisted.

"Well, I'm working at a place called Goblins right now, and I love it there. My boss lets me experiment in his kitchen and sell my creations. I guess it's a win-win for both of us since I get to use a commercial kitchen and he gets the profits of whatever I dream up. Honestly if he ever decided to sell Goblins, I would love to buy it," I admitted.

"That sounds like an admirable goal," Charlotte smiled at me as Eric and his grandfather walked into the kitchen. "Ed, you're covered in sawdust!"

"Pipe down, Charlie, I'll go clean up. I just wanted to say hello to our guest first, if that's alright with you?" Ed fired back at Charlotte.

"Oh sure. Cover the girl in sawdust and then go take a shower. That makes sense," Charlotte snapped at him but Ed just waved her off.

"Will you two knock it off? I swear, you're worse than Lacey and me sometimes," Eric chastised, and the wink I got from Ed told me this was all just an act designed to get Eric all fired up.

Hmmm… I wondered how many people were going to try and ruffle his feathers over the weekend. Eric was generally pretty laidback, but everyone has their breaking points. Eric also preferred being on his own, or being with a small group of people. Given that we were about to be surrounded by dozens, I was pretty sure I was going to get to see a side of Eric had never seen before.

He wasn't used to being around a lot of small kids all at once. I knew he got along well enough with his sisters, but there looked to be about eight kids under the age of ten that would be around at any given time. Little kids like that had a tendency to climb all over you, whether you liked it or not. Personally, I didn't mind it at all. I liked kids a lot, but I didn't mind a little chaos. Eric, on the other hand, liked order and routines, both of which were hard to maintain with little kids around.

"So you must be Sookie," Ed came closer with his hand extended.

"Yessir," I stood up and shook his hand.

"A girl with a grip; I like that," Ed smiled at me and it was easy to see what Eric would look like in fifty years. He was going to be a very good looking older man.

Just to get in the spirit of messing with Eric I said, "And I like a guy with callouses on his hands."

Ed chuckled and patted my shoulder, "You're gonna fit in just fine around here, missy. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go clean up before the missus has a conniption."

"I'll show you a conniption," Charlotte muttered a few feet away.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed grumbled and walked out of the room with a smile on his face.

I can't say I understood what was going on around me, but if it worked for them who was I to judge?

**o.O.o.O.o**

Eric and I had dinner with his grandparents a short while later. Charlotte was a fantastic cook, completely self-taught, and she politely declined my offer to help with the cleanup. Once the kitchen was in order again, she trotted out a pot of coffee and slices of chocolate cake that we ate in the sunroom around the television. Ed had _Citizen Kane_ on, which I had never seen before. It was a long movie, but quite good. I was tired, but determined to stay awake to see the end and find out what the big deal was about rosebud.

Since we were the first to arrive, Eric and I had been given our pick of places to stay. Eric wisely chose the guest cottage since it meant we would have our own bathroom and a little more privacy. We would probably end up with a couple of roommates, but I didn't mind that. I was willing to bet Pam would end up crashing with us. I couldn't imagine her sharing a bathroom with a dozen other people. Pam didn't strike me as the type who liked sharing much at all.

After saying our goodnights to Ed and Charlotte, Eric went to the car to get our bags and I followed him over to the guest cottage. It didn't surprise me that it wasn't locked, since it was in plain view of the main house and was easily seen from the barn where Ed spent most of his time. It was obvious Charlotte had gone in to tidy the place up recently. There was fresh fruit in a bowl on the little dinette table by the tiny kitchen.

The decent sized living room had a love seat and a larger sofa with a pullout bed tucked away in it. The bathroom was small, but had a stacked washer and drier hidden in the closet in there. The house was nicely decorated in shades of brown that ranged from mocha to chocolate, and the trim was bright, shiny white. There was a queen size bed immediately to the left when we walked in, and it wasn't walled off from the rest of the tiny house.

It was pretty similar to what my coach house would be like if it was a little smaller. I couldn't imagine having to cook in such a teeny kitchen night after night. It was bad enough at Eric's place. Hell, my kitchen was bigger than my bedroom at home, but I liked it that way. My kitchen was where I spent most of my time, for one reason or another.

But I didn't plan on doing much cooking while I was in Missouri, unless Charlotte asked for help. I sincerely doubted she would, but I would keep offering. Eric put our bags down on the love seat, and I immediately went to my bag to grab a pair of pajamas from it. I was ready to pass out.

"Tired?" Eric asked when I made a beeline for the bathroom.

"Dude, I was so ready to pass out. I didn't think that movie was ever going to end. I loved it, but damn, it was long," I laughed and headed for the bathroom with my jammies and toothbrush.

"Just be glad he didn't want to watch a western. Once Pops gets into his John Wayne collection, none of us are safe," Eric warned and followed me to the bathroom.

He pulled off his t-shirt and slipped out of his jeans while I brushed my teeth and took my hair out of the bun I had coiled it into earlier that morning. I moaned at the tingles in my scalp when my hair was finally loose again. It was still damp in places since it had been wet when I put it up. I needed a scalp massage, and I knew just who to give the job to.

"Will you rub my head?" I batted my eyelashes at Eric once I was parked on the bed.

He closed the blinds around the cottage before climbing into bed with me. I scooted down so my head was in his lap, and his fingertips began to slowly move around my scalp. "My parents and sisters will be in tomorrow afternoon. Pam is driving in and should be here by dinnertime."

"Good. I can't wait to meet them," I yawned and smiled sleepily with my eyes closed.

"They can't wait to meet you either. It's going to be a zoo around here starting the day after tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't meet some of my uncles and cousins tomorrow. Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Robby should be back by the barn and I think Ryan, Shane, Cooper, Christopher and Colleen will be around," Eric rattled off names like it was nothing.

"I can't believe you have that many cousins," I giggled sleepily. "My parents would go insane if we had to have thirty plus people in the house every time we had a family get together."

"Granny and Pops are used to it. Hell, I think they thrive on the chaos. Granny always said she was glad she had sons instead of daughters. She's a bit of a control freak, so even though she might complain she's not getting help from anyone, she actually likes it that way," Eric explained.

Charlotte was an interesting woman. She spoke her mind, no matter how inappropriate or rude it might seem for her to say the things she said. The thing was she did it in such a sweet, charming way that it was hard to hold it against her. I could see where Pam got her personality from, and I was curious to see how Pam and Charlotte would be around one another. When it came to business, Pam was a total shark, but I sincerely doubted she was going to slap on an apron and help with meals and cleaning.

Eric was telling stories about family holidays past when I fell asleep. I didn't mean to, but between the soothing sound of his voice and the gentle pressure of his fingers in my hair, I couldn't help it. I slept well in the little cottage and woke up in the morning to find Eric already in the shower. It was barely eight o'clock, but I knew we had another busy day ahead of us. I peeked outside to see that it was snowing, which made me happy.

There wasn't much in the way of accumulation, but I wasn't expecting that. The flakes were mostly melting when they hit the ground. I wondered what the weather was like up at my parents' place. They had already been hit once with a couple of inches, but I knew more was on the way. The Farmer's Almanac was never wrong when it came to things like this. No doubt Eric and I would get hammered by a snowstorm at some point while we were up there.

I stripped off my clothes, thinking I would catch Eric while I could since I was pretty sure we would have to be hands off each other, for the most part, from that point on. I kept quiet and made my way over to the bathroom. I stopped the second I walked in, completely stunned by what I was seeing. The shower curtain was clear vinyl, and standing under the hot spray was my gorgeous boyfriend with his eyes closed and his hand wrapped around his cock.

My breath caught and I wasn't sure what to do. There was the modest part of me that said I should back out of the room and give him some privacy, but the vixen in me wanted to get in that shower and finish what he had started. I stood there and watched him. His eyes were screwed shut and I wondered what he was thinking about while he touched himself. There was nothing shameful in what he was doing, and I was sure this wasn't the first time he'd done it. Hell, I was shocked I hadn't caught him already.

With my heart racing, I decided he wasn't likely to turn down an extra hand—or two- and I got into the shower with him. Eric's eyes opened when he heard the scraping of the rings on the curtain rod. I wasn't sure what I expected, but I know it wasn't for him to pull me closer and kiss me. My hand joined his, both of us stroking him, while we kept on kissing. I guided his other hand to my breasts and it didn't take long before he lost all control and released on my stomach.

"Thank you," he whispered, his forehead pressed to mine.

"Good morning to you too," I kissed the corners of his mouth.

"I didn't know you were up or I would have asked you to join me," he ran his hand over my stomach where the evidence of his orgasm had been.

"That's okay. I got quite a show there for a moment," I admitted.

"You were watching me?" he lifted an eyebrow.

"If you had walked in on me touching myself, what would you have done?" I countered with a slight smirk on my face.

There was a definite flicker of lust in his eyes and the hand that was on my stomach moved down between my thighs. I moaned and once again my hand joined his. He smiled at me but didn't say anything. Honestly, that was answer enough.

* * *

><p><strong>Their ability to control themselves is really wearing thin. Thankfully there are only a handful of chapters left before they are virgins no longer. I won't tell which chapter that is, though. But hey, I mean, you've hung in there with them for this long. Do you <em>really<em> want to jump ship now when they're so close? Thanks for reading!**


	30. Chaos For Christmas

Chapter 30: Chaos for Christmas

**EPOV**

I woke up with a hard-on that was damn near painful. I'd been having a hell of a dream when I heard some of the power tools come to life out in the barn. Pops was up at dawn, and usually out in the workshop by seven. I was curled around Sookie, although how we had ended up that way was anyone's guess. I momentarily pressed myself against her ass, but that proved to be a bit of a mistake when she pressed back and moaned in her sleep.

It was either molest her in her while she was unconscious, or get my ass in the shower and take care of myself. So I slipped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I left the door open in the hopes that she might hear it and come looking for me. I let the water warm up while I brushed my teeth, and once I saw steam rising up from behind the curtain I stepped into the tub.

My eyes closed and I was immediately flooded with images from the private after party Sookie and I had in her house after Claudine's Christmas in July party. It was a beach themed Christmas party that resulted in Sookie walking around in a skimpy red and white sequined bikini with a Santa hat and five inch heels. She had one of those skirt type things tied around her waist, but damn…

All night long, all I had wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder and take her back to her own house thirty feet away. Somehow we had managed to make it at the party until just before midnight before we gave up and literally ran back to her house. Sookie looked amazing in that bikini, but she looked even better completely naked and stretched out on her bed with my face between her thighs. I couldn't help myself. I had to have her.

She was driving me crazy. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly want her more, she did something to take it to another level. I was convinced I was slowly going insane. The start of our winter break meant a lot of good things, but I can't lie and say that the end of being a virgin was finally in sight. Just a few more days and I wouldn't be anymore. I was just thinking about Sookie's hands on me when I heard the scrape of the shower curtain rings moving.

When I opened my eyes to find Sookie getting into the shower with me all I could do was reach out and grab her. I wanted to put her up against the wall and bury myself inside her but that wasn't happening. Not yet, anyway. Her hand on mine, both of us stroking me was incredibly sexy. There was a part of me that had hoped she would catch me, but there was the other part that was afraid she'd be perved out by seeing me jerking off.

The fact that she was okay with it, if not turned on by it, only made her that much more awesome in my estimation. Even better was that she wanted to know what I had been thinking about while I was doing it, and telling her only got her more excited when I was touching her. I wasn't being crass about it, but I was definitely talking dirty to her and it was definitely doing something for her. I was going to have to remember that for the future.

After paying her back for her assistance with curing me of my aching morning wood, we got each other cleaned up. I left her in the bathroom to do her normal morning routine of putting on her lotions, makeup and doing her hair. I got dressed and opened the blinds to find it was snowing outside. There was a slight dusting of white powder all over the place, which I was used to thanks to the few snow showers we'd already had up in Chicago. I wasn't really used to white Christmases though, since we definitely didn't get snow in California.

The year before when I had come in with Pam, there had been a warm spike and it barely felt like winter at all. Pops ended up cooking out on the big smoker he had by the barn, which gave Granny a little more time to just sit back and relax with all the grandkids. It was hard to make time to talk to everyone. Actually, it was too easy to just get lost in a conversation and lose track of time. Before you knew it, you spent half the night hanging out with the same couple of people and ended up missing out on talking to everyone else.

Simply put, my family was insanely big.

Once Sookie was dressed we headed across the yard to the main house. By then it was almost ten, and Granny was gone. She'd left to go get my parents and sisters from the airport in Tulsa. It was the closest major airport. Their flight was on time, according to the note left by Granny. They had left LA at six that morning and flown into Denver where they had a forty minute layover before flying the last hour and a half into Tulsa. Barring any weather problems, their flight was supposed to be arriving in Oklahoma at about 12:30.

Granny had left waffles warming for us in the oven and I was amazed they weren't hard as rocks, since I was sure they had been there for at least two hours. We ate together at the kitchen table and then cleaned up after ourselves. The snow had stopped while we were eating, and I offered to show Sookie the barn.

"Yes, I want to see it," she beamed a smile at me.

We got our coats and shoes on, and headed outside. Just as we were walking around back, a truck pulled up alongside us. Uncle Jimmy was inside with my cousins Ryan and Shane. The truck came to a stop and I tugged Sookie's hand to guide her over to the waiting truck. The passenger's side window came down and I was face to face with Shane, the younger of the two boys.

"Long time no see," Shane said with a smile and then looked at Sookie.

"Yeah, good to see you, Shane," I smiled and pulled Sookie a little closer to me. "This is my cousin Shane."

"Hi, I'm Sookie," she smiled up at him.

"I'm in love," he answered and I rolled my eyes.

I knew this was going to fucking happen.

Sookie laughed and said, "Well for Eric's sake, I hope I don't get confused with all of these clones running around."

"I look nothing like that ugly bastard," I retorted, even though that wasn't even close to true.

"Shane, Pops is waiting so either pull it back or get out of the truck," Uncle Jimmy said from inside the truck, and waved at me.

"I think I'll walk," Shane said and got out of the truck.

Shit.

"See you up at the workshop," Uncle Jimmy said and took off at breakneck speeds for the barn.

"So, Sookie, what are you doing with this guy?" Shane jerked a thumb at me.

Here we go.

"Shane, isn't there some lonely livestock you should be keeping company?" I suggested.

"Nah, that's Ryan's thing," he said without missing a beat. It would have been funny if I didn't want to junk punch him.

"Shane, there's a really quick way for us to settle this," Sookie offered as we walked along.

"You leave Eric and camp out with me under the mistletoe?"

"Dude, I am so going to tell Pops you said that," I shook my head.

"Pops likes a little healthy competition. You were saying, Sookie?" Shane fixed his eyes on her.

"Do you have any tattoos?" she asked and I grinned because I knew the answer to that.

"Not yet. I won't be eighteen until next September," Shane explained.

"Well, then there are several reasons why you and I won't work. First, I'm in love with Eric. Second of all, I don't do the cradle robbing thing. Finally, I'm into guys with tattoos. So by the rules of baseball, you're out," Sookie said as politely as possible.

I lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. She was perfect.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

Eric's family was a trip. Between Shane hitting on me—which became somewhat of a game- and the general loudness of them all, I was a little overwhelmed. They were friendly people who seemed hell-bent on making sure I felt like I was being included in everything. When his parents and sisters arrived later that afternoon, I worried I might lose some of the momentum I'd had all day. It seemed I had at least Eric, Shane and Pops—he insisted I call him that- on my side, but meeting your boyfriend's mother is intimidating no matter how much support you have.

I was back in the workshop with Pops, helping him with the sanding for Carol's new hutch. I knew a little bit about finishing wood since Dad did some tinkering in carpentry himself. So I was put in charge of sanding the shelves that were going inside the hutch while Pops worked on fitting the glass panes into the cabinet doors. We worked well together, and I figured out that he preferred to work quietly. He had music playing, mostly the same old Jazz I would expect to hear at Gran's house, and he was impressed when I was able to quietly sing along with some of it.

Jimmy and Ryan were doing some framework in at the other end of the barn. A few deliveries came in that were put away by Shane and another cousin named Christopher. I met Colleen, who did a lot of the filing, billing and other office work for the company. It was really cool how the entire family seemed to come together to continue to make the business Pops had built into a success. I had always been satisfied with the family I had growing up, but now I was a little sad it was so small.

The boys razzed one another, but that was a big part of being a boy. That was how they related to one another, and when they got going I was able to stand back with Colleen and just watch. Shane's continued attention was annoying as hell to Eric, and I was pretty sure the second he got me alone I was going to get a big reminder of who I belonged to. I was looking forward to it. I wasn't encouraging Shane, exactly, but I probably wasn't as firm with him as I should have been either. To me it was all a joke, since I obviously wasn't interested in him.

So anyway, I was back in the workshop with Pops, sanding shelves when Eric appeared with his parents and youngest sister in tow. I stopped what I was doing and brushed my hands off on the apron I was wearing over my clothes so I wouldn't be covered in sawdust when I left the barn. Once again I was given the chance to see what Eric would look like when he was older. He was the spitting image of his father. The only difference was that he had his mother's smile.

"Sookie, these are my parents, Eddie and Nicole, and my sister Amber," Eric stood between me and them.

"It's so great to meet you. Eric has told me so much about you," I reached out to shake hands but Nicole damn near tackled me in a hug. Exuberance ran rampant in the family, and Nicole seemed to have an extra helping of it.

"I am so glad you could make it," Nicole squeezed me tightly.

"Me too," I wheezed but didn't try to get loose. "I'm glad I was invited. I've heard so many stories about everyone. I feel like I know you already."

Nicole finally let me go, only for Eddie to extend his hand to me. I gladly reached out and shook it with the same firmness I'd shaken Pops' hand the day before. "Delta Mike," he smiled at me.

"Yessir," I laughed, thrilled that I had been given a nickname before even meeting Eric's father. I had been trying to come up with a name for him but it hadn't come to me just yet. Just to mess with him, however, I said, "It's an honor to meet such a decorated Seaman."

Eddie's smile faded and both Nicole and Amber looked horrified. Eric grinned, knowing I had done that on purpose. I knew damn well that Eddie was a retired Marine. I also knew there was that goofy grudge against the Navy, so it only seemed right to tease him about it. It was a little bit of payback for the nickname, I suppose.

"Could be worse, son, she could have called you a puddle pirate," Pops offered from behind me.

"A puddle pirate?" I laughed.

"Coast Guard," Eric and Amber supplied for me.

"And I'm not a squid, either," Eddie fixed a glare on me that reminded me of the ones Eric set on Stan whenever he started throwing out unwanted sex tips.

"Ooo-rah, sir," I smiled at him.

"Careful with the teasing," Pops dropped a hand on my shoulder and nodded toward Amber. "You'll offend the littlest devil pup."

"Enough with the military talk!" Nicole interjected, her hands flying into the air in frustration.

"Mama Bear gets annoyed," Eric explained as if I couldn't see that for myself.

I got myself cleaned up a little bit and Pops excused me from being his helper. Eric and I walked hand in hand, following his parents and sister back to the main house. More of Eric's family had arrived while I was out back working with Pops. Two of Eric's aunts were in the kitchen with Charlotte, helping her with some baking she was doing.

Eric introduced us, and just as it was with Nicole, his aunts each hugged me. It was a little overwhelming and it was only going to get worse before it got better. He hadn't been kidding when he said it was like being trapped in a zoo.

"Where's Lacey?" Nicole asked once we all had our coats and shoes off and stacked in the ever-growing pile by the door.

"Upstairs talking to her boyfriend, I think," Charlotte said with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh for the love of God," Nicole rolled her eyes.

I kept quiet since I could understand hating being separated from my boyfriend. I'd heard stories about Josh and how no one in the family seemed to like him. Since I hadn't met him personally, and I didn't know Lacey either, I figured it was best to keep my opinion to myself. I tended to think, however, that if everyone was telling you a person was a waste of your time, they were probably right.

On the other hand, trying to tell a teenage girl that she was wasting herself on a boy was rarely a good idea. More often than not, it seemed to push the couple closer together. The need to defy one's parents in the teen years was almost a reflex. Ever ready to get on her big sister's last nerve, Amber went upstairs to go get Lacey.

Since there wasn't a whole lot of room in the kitchen, I went to the living room with Eric and his parents. A fire was crackling away in the fireplace, and Eric pulled me down to sit with him on the loveseat. The cushions were comfy, and if I wasn't careful, I was going to end up falling asleep there mid-conversation. Between the warm fire, the cushy couch and being leaned up against the world's best pillow, I was one happy girl and in the perfect spot for a nap.

"So how was your flight?" I asked one we were settled.

"We got a little delayed in Colorado, but it wasn't terrible," Nicole said and then there was arguing coming from the loft overhead.

"Shut up, Amber! Josh is not a whiskey tango redneck!" Lacey shouted.

Nicole glared at Eddie, who had already closed his eyes. I looked up at Eric was who grinning with serious amusement. I, of course, was completely clueless and asked, "What is a whiskey tango redneck?"

Eric laughed and whispered, "I'll explain it later."

Ooookay.

"Girls, quit hollering at each other and get down here!" Nicole shouted back at them.

"Don't get mad at me because you're going to end up in some lame whiskey tango trailer with a whiskey tango husband, raising whiskey tango bucktooth babies!" Amber said as she and Lacey came downstairs.

I had no idea what she was saying, but Eric was laughing next to me. I knew I was missing out on something, but it was probably for the best that I didn't get it. Lacey came storming into the room with a pissed off expression on her face. She was a pretty girl, even with anger written all over her face. She had Nicole's more delicate features, but had inherited her father's height. She could probably be a model if she wanted to be.

"Lo, this is Sookie. Sookie, this is my sister Lacey," Eric introduced us.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled and waved at her.

"Does your family give you shit every time you call Eric?" Lacey demanded immediately.

"Lacey!" Nicole said in a tone of warning.

"I was just letting Josh know I got here okay. God, why does everyone hate him?" she looked like she was on the verge of tears. I felt sorry for her.

No one had an answer for that, and I felt awkward as hell trying to change the subject. Fortunately, I guess, a couple of Eric's cousins came into the room and ended up taking Amber and Lacey along with them when they headed to the sunroom to watch a movie. They weren't very quiet about it, though.

Eric and I sat there making small talk with his parents for a while. They asked about our drive in the day before, slowly building up to the more interrogative portion of the conversation. Nicole did most of the talking, asking a lot about my family and the town I had grown up in. It turned out my hometown wasn't so different from the town I was currently sitting in.

I was in the kitchen helping Nicole get tea for everyone when Pam pulled in. I had no doubt she was going to end up shacked up with Eric and me out at the guest cottage. Pops had joked earlier about how if Eric and I came over to the main house early enough on Christmas Day; the living room was going to look like Jonestown with all the bodies strewn about. Their house had been ample space for him, Charlotte and their boys, but it was another story when you added on wives and grandkids. Yet it didn't make much sense to expand the house since it was so rare for everyone to be in all at once.

Pam came trotting into the kitchen wearing nothing by designer labels. It was going to be weird to see teenagers calling her Aunt Pam, considering she wasn't even ten years older than her. Eric only called her Aunt Pam when he wanted to annoy her. Then again, the only labels Pam was concerned about belonged sewn into her clothing.

"The party can begin, for I have arrived," Pam said as she closed the kitchen door.

"I'll hide the children," Eric's Aunt Carol smirked and then went to give Pam a hug.

"The children know better than to climb on Aunt Pam," she said as she hugged Carol back. "Where's Mom?"

"You know, I'm not sure. I think maybe she went to go lie down for a while? She had to drive to Tulsa to pick us up," Nicole said as she went around the island to give Pam a hug as well.

"Hey Pam," I waved.

"Sookie. Where's Eric?"

"In the living room, probably being further interrogated by Junior," Nicole shook her head.

"The sex talk?" Pam suggested and my eyes went wide.

"I wouldn't be surprised. I know Senior was giving tips over Thanksgiving," Charlotte continued in Nicole's stead as she entered the kitchen. "And it's about time you dragged your skinny ass in here, young lady. I hope you brought an apron to cover those fancy dancey clothes of yours because you're on kitchen duty this year, no exceptions."

Charlotte was a hard ass, and I loved her for it.

"We'll see about that," Pam whispered in my ear.

"I'm not deaf!" Charlotte stared daggers at Pam, who nudged me with her hip.

I shook my head, feeling like I was trapped in the eye of a hurricane with all of the chaotic activity happening around me. Before too long the aunts, except for Pam, and the cousins disappeared to go home and have supper at their own houses. I loaned Charlotte a hand cooking dinner, and chatted with her, Nicole and Pam as we worked on the meal. There were a few arguments on the other side of the house, but it was nothing a few stern words from Eddie couldn't nip in the bud.

When dinner was ready, I was sent to summon the troops. Charlotte used the intercom to call the barn to bring Pops inside. There wasn't enough room for everyone to sit around the kitchen table, but Charlotte and Pops insisted Eric and I eat in the kitchen with them. Pam was relegated to eating in the sunroom with Amber and Lacey. I was hoping I'd get the chance to talk to them a little bit before I had to leave.

After dinner Eric and I helped Pam bring her bags into the guest cottage. Amber and Lacey found their way over there as well, and the five of us ended up putting in a movie. I fell asleep in Eric's lap half way through _The Hangover_, and woke up tucked into the bed in the back. It was still dark out and I could hear Eric and Pam whispering in the sitting area.

I couldn't tell what they were saying, exactly, but the conversation came to a halt when I moved in the bed, rustling the comforter. I could have gotten paranoid about it, but I was too tired. I simply rolled over and went back to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmmm so what were Eric and Pam talking about that they didn't want Sookie to hear? Shane is a fun character to write. A little on the annoying side, but mostly harmless. You know, like any little brother type figure. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	31. Here Without You

Chapter 31: Here Without You

**EPOV**

Helping Sookie pack up to leave absolutely sucked. I told myself it was just three days that we would be apart for, but it still sucked. We were seriously going to need to start talking about living together when we got back from Wisconsin. We were spending the night together more often than not. I hated sleeping alone and I was pretty sure she felt the same way.

My family positively adored Sookie, even Amber, who was a pretty tough customer a lot of the time. All of my male cousins over the age of twelve thought she was hot, and Shane in particular, had no problem making comments that were completely inappropriate. I nearly decked him twice but it wasn't until my father overheard some of the things Shane was saying that he finally got the hint that it wasn't cool. Dad put the fear of God into Shane, going all bad ass Marine on him until I thought Shane was going to cry.

He learned the hard way that picking on Delta Mike wouldn't be tolerated, unless it was my father doing the picking. But then who was going to hassle my old man? Well, except for Granny, of course, but that was just her style.

"Do you really have to go?" I whined as Sookie grabbed the last of her things from the bathroom the day before Christmas Eve.

"Yes, I have to go. I wish I could stay, though, if it helps," she paused to kiss me quickly, but that wasn't good enough for me.

We were alone, at least for the time being, and I planned on taking advantage of it. Even if it was only three days we would be apart, it was too much. I pulled Sookie back and really kissed her. She dropped the hairbrush and bottle of hairspray she had been holding. Her arms went around my neck and when I lifted her off the floor, her legs wrapped around my waist.

In my mind I imagined laying her down on the bed, stripping off her clothes and making love to her until she absolutely had to leave. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. We kissed until we ran out of air, and when Sookie pulled back she rested her forehead against mine. She took a few deep, measured breaths and ran her fingers through my hair at the back of my head.

"I have something I want to give you before I leave," she spoke softly.

"Please tell me it involves being naked," I was only half joking, but she slapped my shoulder anyway.

"No, it doesn't. Put me down, will you?"

"For a price," I smirked at her and got myself another great kiss from her before I set her down.

Sookie went to her bag and pulled out a little stocking with my name painted on it in what looked like glitter glue. I lifted an eyebrow, but took it from her when she offered it to me.

"I was going to stash that somewhere for you to find later, but I didn't want Pam or one of your cousins to find it instead," she explained.

"Are there nudie pictures in here?" I joked and Sookie rolled her eyes.

"You know, I'm starting to reconsider giving that to you," she reached for it, but I held it up over my head where she couldn't reach it.

"Can I look now or do I have to wait until Christmas morning?" I asked.

She thought for a moment and said, "You decide."

"I think I'll wait until Christmas morning," I told her and then tucked the stocking into my bag. I grabbed a little something I had been holding onto for her as well. "This is for you," I handed her the small box.

"What is it?" she smiled at me.

"Open it," I nodded.

"No, I'm going to wait for Christmas morning. I'll call you when I open it, and you can open your stocking at the same time. Is that lame?"

"Not at all," I pulled her close and kissed her again.

Of course the door came flying open and Pam strolled in. "I told Mom you weren't packing in here."

"You're just ornery because Amelia isn't here," Sookie stuck her tongue out at Pam.

"You'll do," Pam shrugged and I flipped her the bird for it. Of course Pam just cackled like the witch she was.

"What are you doing here, Pam?"

"I'm here to annoy you, of course, my favorite nephew. And I needed to get away from the testosterone factory that house has become," she cringed. It was times like these when it was obvious why Pam wasn't into men.

"Oh come on, Pam, I'm sure they're just pissed off that your balls are bigger," Sookie snickered and I couldn't help but laugh.

"She definitely has fuller beard," I chimed in and Pam threw a pillow at me.

"Fuck you both," she sneered.

Messing with Pam was fun, and something I didn't get to do often. A little payback was a good thing. But then I remembered the conversation we had the night before and I decided it was best if I cooled my jets. It had started when Pam made a comment about the passes Shane was making at Sookie, and how he was going to end up with a busted set of family jewels if he didn't watch his mouth. It was good to know Pam had Sookie's back, even if she didn't quite have mine.

She had just asked about the situation with Sophie, which I had completely forgotten about, when I heard Sookie moving around in bed on the other side of the cottage. Since I hadn't seen Sophie at all in the last couple of weeks I hadn't given her much thought. What happened the last time I saw her completely slipped my mind, and it seemed stupid to bring it up now. Pam had shaken her head at me, looking every bit like she wanted to smack me for being a moron.

I had insisted it was no big deal and not worth upsetting Sookie over. Pam countered by reminding me that I would be furious if the situation was reversed and some dude had felt up my girl. She was right, of course, but there was a part of me that wanted to think I would be able to trust Sookie to handle it on her own. She wasn't the kind of girl who would just let some asshole cop a feel. Of course that led me to thinking about the fact that I had done nothing but walk out when Sophie grabbed me, and that was only because Pam had pulled me out of the shop.

Once again I resolved that the next time I saw Sophie if she got flirty with me, I would remind her that I already had a girlfriend and she needed to cut that shit out. I couldn't control what Sophie did, but I could damn well let her know that shit was unacceptable, not to mention disrespectful to both Sookie _and_ me.

Sookie finished packing up her things and we carried her bags out to the car together. After that, we headed back to the main house so she could say goodbye to everyone. It was a shame she was leaving so soon. Granny and Pops both made her promise to come back over the summer, with or without me. I narrowed my eyes at that, which only made Pops' grin a little bigger than usual. Yeah, my grandfather was sorta flirting with my girlfriend, too. The scary thing was Granny might actually encourage it if he said he was going to run off with a girl like Sookie.

At least Dad had my back.

"If you come up to Wisconsin sometime I'll take you ice fishing," Sookie promised when she hugged my Dad. She just made a friend for life.

"Deal. You drive safe. You've got extra weight in your trunk, right? Sandbags are good for snowy areas in case you lose traction," Dad told her.

"Don't I know it," Sookie released him from the hug. "I checked all my fluids this morning, so I'm good to go."

"Ooh-rah, Delta Mike," he patted her shoulder and Sookie grinned. She was really starting to like that nickname.

Sookie hugged each of my sisters and I saw Amber slip her a piece of paper before letting her go. I had no idea what was written on it, but I figured asking now was a bad idea. Sookie saved Mom for last, and they still had an arm around one another as we walked out to the car to see her off. I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, but based on the teary smile on Mom's face I had to assume it was good things.

"You call when you get there, alright? Eric'll be devastated if something happens to you," Mom said as Sookie opened the driver's side door.

"Yes, ma'am, I'll call," Sookie promised and I knew she would. Hell, I'd probably be on the phone with her most of the time she was driving.

My parents took a few steps back to give Sookie and I little bit of privacy to say our final goodbyes to one another. I reminded myself that we had done four days before. It sucked, but we had survived, and seeing each other again had been wonderful. I could handle three days. I wasn't _that_ whipped.

Except I was.

"I love you," was all I could think of to say before kissing her like the world was ending.

Her hands settled on my waist as she kissed me back. My hands were in her hair and it wasn't until my father cleared his throat from a few feet away that I backed off. I was nineteen and in love for the first time in my life. Practically mauling my girlfriend in front of anyone watching was to be expected, wasn't it?

"I love you too. I'll see you in three days," she promised and pulled my mouth back to hers.

She cut off the kiss abruptly and without having to say so, I knew she had reached a point where if she didn't leave right then, she was never going to go. I stepped out of the way so she could get into the car and then closed her door for her once she was sitting inside. Sookie started the engine and rolled down her window. I leaned down and touched her cheek gently. She smiled at me and there were tears in her eyes. I told myself it was because of the cold and not because she was sad.

"See you soon," I promised her and kissed her once more before backing away.

Sookie put the car in gear and began to back out of her parking space. I took a few more steps back until I was surrounded by my parents.

"She's a good girl, Eric," Mom put her arm around me.

"Yeah she is," I agreed and waved back at Sookie when she held her mittened hand up.

"Don't fuck it up, son. That's an order," Dad clapped my shoulder and then headed for the house, muttering under his breath, "I'm freezing my balls off out here."

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

The drive to Wisconsin took for-fucking-ever thanks to a snowstorm at the Illinois/Wisconsin boarder. I had considered taking a different route that would take me up through Iowa and into Minnesota before heading east into Wisconsin, but there was an even worse storm at the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. Either way, what should have been an almost thirteen hour drive ended up being closer to fifteen.

Dad, of course, was waiting up for me when I arrived at almost two in the morning on Christmas Eve. I was fucking wiped out, but the last thing I wanted to do was stay still any longer. Dad had leftover pizza warming in the oven for me (the man is a saint!) and helped me bring in my bags. The gifts I had bought for my family, with the exception of my parents, had been shipped to the real estate office so I didn't have to haul them all up north.

Since we didn't open presents until Christmas Day, I would have plenty of time to wrap them. Because everyone else was going down to Louisiana for the New Year, and Hunter had a cold anyway, the rest of the family stayed down south where it was a little warmer. The quiet of my parents' house enveloped me almost immediately. As soon as I got my coat and shoes off, I ran straight for the bathroom. I'd needed to pee for probably the last 100 miles but I was so intent on getting home that I wouldn't let myself stop to do so.

When I got out of the bathroom feeling twenty pounds lighter, I found Dad in the kitchen, pulling the pizza from the oven. There was a partially frozen Dr. Pepper on the table. I hadn't had a frozen Dr. Pepper in ages. I made a mental note that I needed to introduce Eric to their magic because even though he wasn't much of a pop drinker, his life would never be the same after he had one.

"Have I ever told you how awesome you are?" I asked Dad as he handed me a plate with slices of white pizza on it.

Ever since I had introduced him to white pizza, it seemed to be all Dad ever wanted. Couldn't blame him there. What wasn't to love about a sauceless pizza with ricotta and tons of mozzarella cheese on it? _Yummy._

I stood at the breakfast bar in the kitchen since there was no way I could talk myself into sitting for a while. "Thanks for waiting up for me," I said after swallowing my first bite of pizza.

"With the bad weather headed this way I wanted to make sure you got in okay," Dad said as if I didn't already know that.

I dropped my pizza and dug my phone out of my pocket to send a text to Eric.

**S:** I'm home, baby. I'm talking to Dad right now but I'll try calling before I go to sleep.

"How was Missouri?" Dad asked as I set my phone down and resumed chowing on my pizza.

"It was… it was interesting. Eric's family is great, but huge. One of his cousins kept hitting on me. I thought for sure Eric was going to lose his shit the way Jason would and go totally Tyler Durden on the kid."

"Tyler Durden?" Dad tilted his head.

"_Fight Club_," I reminded him and Dad nodded.

"Is Eric the violent kind?"

"Only when there are assholes trying to pick-up his girlfriend," I shrugged and sipped my Dr. Pepper. "Oh my God, this is amazing."

My phone chirped and I looked down to see a text message had come in. I rightfully assumed it was from Eric.

**E:** Glad you made it. Call when you can. Love you.

I smiled at the message and then cleared it away. While I ate I told Dad about the insanity that had gone on at Charlotte and Pops' house. I talked about Eric's parents and how relatively stress-free it was for me to meet them. Everyone had been so nice and welcoming to me. If there was anyone who didn't like me, they had done a darn good job of hiding it away. I was sure Eric would tell me the truth when I met up with him in a couple of days.

Only two and a half to go.

Not long after I finished my pizza, Dad excused himself to go up to bed. By then it was almost 3:30. I headed downstairs after making sure the house was all locked up and hoped I would get reception down in the basement when I called Eric. I missed him in ridiculous amounts.

I pulled off my clothes and swapped them for a pair of sweats and a pullover of Eric's that I had smuggled out of his apartment. I felt like I was wrapped up in him as I climbed into bed and dialed his number. It was chilly downstairs, suggesting the heat vents hadn't been open for too long. Then again, there was almost always a chill in the air down there in the wintertime.

"Mmmm… hello…" Eric grumbled into his phone.

"It's me," I said softly. "I just wanted to hear your voice. Go back to sleep."

"No, no, keep talking. I'm listening," he slurred. Poor baby was definitely not going to remember my call in the morning.

"Daddio had a frozen Dr. Pepper waiting for me when I got here. The man is my hero," I told Eric.

"Me too," he said and I had to restrain a chuckle.

"Sweetie, I'll call you later. You have no idea what you're saying," I shook my head. If I didn't know any better, I would think he was drunk.

"Okay. Night pretty girl," he whispered and my heart melted a little at him calling me that.

"Night, babe," I blew him a kiss and then hung up.

I dropped my phone on the bed and closed my eyes. It had been a really long day, but I was that much closer to seeing Eric again. That was all that mattered to me.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

It was the smell of coffee and bacon that woke me a few hours later. I groped around for my cell phone, unwilling to let any part of my body out from under my covers that didn't have to be. I was so warm and cozy right where I was. The only thing missing was Eric, but that would soon be rectified. According to my cell phone it was just after ten.

It was pitch dark in my room, thanks to the heavy damask curtains blocking the small windows close to the ceiling. There was also a text message waiting for me from Eric.

**E:** You never called last night. Everything okay?

I snorted and dialed his number. He picked up on the second ring. "What happened to you last night? You said you were going to call."

"I did. Check your call history. You were passed out and not really making a whole lot of sense. But you _did_ call me pretty girl," I informed him.

"Oh," he said sheepishly.

"It's fine, Eric, don't worry about it."

"Sooo I have to tell you something," he said slowly.

"What's that?" I rolled onto my back.

"I got impatient and looked in the stocking you gave me," he admitted.

"Oh yeah?" I smiled, trying to imagine what his face must have looked like. "What'd you think of your presents?"

"Pretty girl, you gave me peanut butter cups and condoms… there are no words," he sounded genuinely amazed.

"Well, the peanut butter cups are for now but the condoms…well, you might want to bring those up north with you. You know, just in case," I said and even though I was alone, I know my cheeks flushed red.

"Whatever happens, happens, right?"

"Right."

"So are you going to open your present?" he asked.

"Nope, I'm saving it for tomorrow morning. At least _one_ of us has will power and stamina," I teased.

"Was that a sex joke?" I could hear his eyebrow lift over the phone.

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

"Yeah, we definitely will," he promised.

Only fifty-six hours to go.

* * *

><p><strong>So if I remember correctly the next chapter is probably the longest chapter of the story so far, and it's definitely an important one. You'll just have to wait and see why. Or maybe I'll post a teaser on tumblr. We'll see. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	32. Welcome to the Stackhouses'

Chapter 32: Welcome to the Stackhouses'

**EPOV**

The drive up to Sookie's parents' house wasn't bad. The drive to Missouri was definitely worse. I was surprised by how similar Sookie's hometown was to where my grandparents lived. The houses were the same as I would expect to see anywhere in Middle America, but the plots were bigger. The driveways were longer as well, and were probably a bitch to shovel in the winter.

"How much time did you spend shoveling the driveway as a kid?" I asked as we traveled down the county road.

"We always had a plow attached to the front of Gran's old truck that we used to clear the driveways. Depending on how much snow there was, we would just take one of the quads over to her house," Sookie told me.

"Quads?"

"Yeah, a four-wheeler or an ATV, whatever you want to call it."

The car started to slow and when I looked to the left I saw 'Stackhouse' above a bunch of mailboxes. It was like entering a compound. Only there were no sisterwives here.

Sookie waited for a Jeep to pass us and then she turned into the driveway. We were surrounded by woods on either side. We drove about a quarter mile before seeing another sign on a patch of lawn that welcomed us to the Stackhouse property. The driveway looped around in front of the house and there was a small parking area big enough for three or four cars just before the garage. The house itself was a cheerful shade of yellow, for the most part, but the lower level coming out of the ground was all stone. Sort of reminded me of a dungeon. The shutters were bright white.

The garage door was shut but that was easily fixed when Sookie leaned over and pulled a remote from the glove box. The garage door went up to reveal a big Expedition parked closer to the house. I assumed that was her mom's car.

"If we need it, we've got copies of Gran's keys. You might learn how to plow a driveway while we're up here," Sookie put her car in park.

"I think I'll just supervise."

"Oh you think so?" Sookie smiled at me and then got out of the car.

She opened the trunk and reached in for one of her bags but I wouldn't let her take either of them. I liked that she didn't expect me to do things like that for her, but she wasn't offended by the gesture either. She didn't see it as me trying to hold her back as a woman, or some other feminist bullshit. I closed the trunk and followed Sookie to the garage door.

"No security alarm here?" I was surprised.

"What for? Anyone crazy or stupid enough to break in here deserves the face full of buckshot they'd get for it. Daddy knows his home invasion laws inside and out," she told me as we stepped inside. "You'll have to excuse the decor. My parents have been planning on renovating but they keep pushing it back."

I looked around to see a pretty hideous orange counter at the bar immediately to our right. The wall was mirrored behind it, but it had that weird gold stuff running through it so it looked like marble, I guess. It was weird. The carpet was in need of replacing. It was an awful ruddy/brown color, but I was guessing that wasn't what it looked like originally.

There was a fireplace in the far corner to the right of the sliding glass doors that led out to the backyard. The fireplace was surrounded by heavy stone that went all the way to the ceiling. Another set of sliding doors to the left behind us went into another room. Straight ahead there was a small flight of stairs that looked to have been hand built.

The house needed work, but it didn't seem to be a lost cause. It was bigger than I thought it would be based on Sookie's previous descriptions though.

"Want the tour?" Sookie asked as she pulled off her sweatshirt.

"Sure," I smiled and followed suit when she took off her shoes.

Room by room she led me around the house, showing me everything there was to see. We wouldn't need to go upstairs very much since her bedroom was downstairs and there was a bathroom along the main hallway next to the office. The living room was a little more formal than the rec room, but the rec room was definitely more comfortable. There was a huge U-shaped couch in there with a large plasma TV mounted on the wall. Between that and the mini fridge stashed behind the bar, there was almost no reason at all to leave the rec room for the duration of our stay.

When we got down to the bedrooms, Sookie paused at the landing. There were two bedrooms that were side by side and I was amused to see she hadn't been kidding about the shag carpet and wood paneled walls. It was like the house was trapped in the 70s.

"This is my room," Sookie flipped a light switch in the room on the left. "Nice maroon carpet, right?"

She wasn't kidding about that either. The room had a drop ceiling and maroon shag carpet on the floor and then trimming the walls above the paneling. Why anyone would do that was beyond me.

"Why is there carpet on your walls?" I asked since I thought she might know.

"Insulation, I think. It gets pretty cold down here in the winter," she said and grabbed one of her bags. "So, you're more than welcome to sleep in here with me but there's the free bed next door if you prefer."

Was she serious?

"If it gets cold you're going to need someone to keep you warm," I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"I have my layers, remember?" She teased and got herself tackled onto her soft mattress for it.

I got her locked into a snuggle and we just lay there for a while. "I could get used to this," I kissed her forehead.

"We have a week," she snuggled against me. "We'll make it count."

Yes we would. I had condoms in my bag and she knew they were there. I didn't want to be a presumptuous bastard, so I had asked her if I should bring them along. The conversation had been a little awkward, but no more awkward than if she found the box once we were in Wisconsin. Since this was a decision we both had to be in on, we had the talk. All systems were go.

Was I nervous? I'd like to say no, and that I was confident I had it in the bag. Everything had been clicking along so far, but this had the potential to ruin our relationship if it didn't go well. It would suck if we broke up because the sex was bad. I wasn't expecting amazing sex the first time out, and I think we both had realistic expectations.

I knew it wasn't going to last for long, and I knew she was going to be in pain because of it. Self-control was key in all of this. Not just so I didn't hurt her any more than I had to, but so that it wasn't over in forty-five seconds. I had no misconceptions about my initial lack of hang time. I didn't know how long I was going to last, but I didn't expect pornstar sex. I wasn't thinking about crazy positions or doing any fancy tricks. We would have time to discover different things as we went along.

For the first time, I just wanted Sookie to be relaxed and in the right frame of mind. I knew being tense and nervous would only make it more uncomfortable for her. I didn't have a plan, but I wanted the spontaneity. When it felt right, it felt right. We were prepared for whatever we might decide to do. And if we got back to Chicago without having had sex, that was okay too.

So yes, I was nervous, but I also knew it would be okay. We had been open and talked about everything so far. Communication was so important, and I realized that I couldn't imagine having the kinds of conversations I'd had with Sookie with any of my previous girlfriends. Was it possible Sookie was the one in more ways than I thought?

She turned over so we were just about nose to nose. Her eyes sparkled and she intentionally twitched her nose like a little rabbit. When she threw her leg over my hip, I leaned in to kiss her. She was so warm and soft pressed against me like she was. Sookie had no idea how sexy she was, and how often I just wanted to grab her and tackle her. She was going to find out though.

We didn't go any farther than kissing, though, and when Sookie pulled back she was smiling at me with her eyes. I loved that look on her. I remembered what Pops had said to me about being able to see myself in Sookie's eyes, and I realized that I could. She saw me in ways that no one else ever had, and probably ever would. The feeling was a little overwhelming. Trying to figure out what that meant for us had my brain off somewhere else, so I didn't hear it the first time that Sookie suggested we go for a ride.

"What?" I shook myself.

"I was thinking we could take one of the quads out for a while before it gets dark. I can show you where Gran and Jason's houses are," she offered.

"Yeah, sure, that'd be cool," I sat up.

Sookie got out a pair of snow pants and put them on over the yoga pants she was wearing. I wasn't expecting hot pink snow pants, but she looked adorable in them. I didn't think it was that cold outside, but Sookie was dressed for a snowpacolypse. It was cute.

She gave me some of her father's head protection stuff, insisting that I would regret riding around on a quad in 20 degree weather without gloves or a hat. She put one of those goofy looking hunter's caps on me and I stopped her from tying it on. "But you look so cute," she grabbed my face and kissed me on the mouth with a loud smacking noise.

I growled at her but she just twitched her nose at me again and reached for her coat. Out in the garage there were two quads parked side by side. Sookie took the keys for one of them and went over to the machine the garage had to be big enough for two and a half cars. She got the quad going and turned around to motion me over. I climbed on behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.

Sookie drove the quad out of the garage and left the door open. She turned to the left and went part of the way around the loop of the driveway before turning off onto a rutted trail that ran along the backyard. The yard was massive. We followed the trailed that went to the right. The woods looked cool with all the ice frozen to the tree branches. I had no idea which direction we were going.

I was, however, glad Sookie had insisted on a hat and gloves. We weren't going too fast, but the wind definitely stung. My face was freezing slowly and my eyes were tearing up a little. The quad slowed and then there on the right was a house. Sookie pulled into the driveway, and all the decoration suggested we were at Gran's house.

"So this is Gran's," Sookie shutdown the quad and climbed off.

Just as she told me, Gran lived in an old farmhouse style home. She had a big front porch, complete with a swing and a rocking chair. We didn't go inside, but Sookie pointed out the tree that once had a tire swing hanging from it. If I wouldn't have known better I would have thought we were in the south somewhere. It was fitting, since that was where Gran had grown up.

"Gran was originally from a tiny town in Louisiana, as was Granddad. She met him when he was in the Air Force. He was based out of Shreveport," Sookie explained.

"How did they end up here?" I asked as we walked hand in hand around the house.

"They wanted a change of scenery, and a friend of Granddad's used to own a resort up on Blue Lake. Faulty electrical work started a fire in the off season and a bunch of the cabins burned down. Rather than rebuilding, the owner closed the resort down. By then Gran was pregnant with Aunt Linda so they didn't want to move. They ended up staying here instead," Sookie explained and we came to a stop in the driveway.

"It's a nice house," I took another appraising look at it.

"It is. Dad helped with a lot of the building. He's not a licensed contractor, but he might as well be," Sookie pulled me toward the quad. "You want to drive?"

"I have never driven a quad before," I admitted.

"I figured, since you didn't know what it was when I first mentioned it," she poked me teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah, but I bet you have no idea what sex wax is," I smirked at her.

She crinkled her nose and said, "Um, no, I don't."

After a quick driving lesson, Sookie climbed onto the quad behind me. The added warmth at my back was nice, and she gave me step by step instructions on how to get to her brother's. We turned right out of the driveway and I slowed down when I got to the T at the end of the trail.

"There isn't going to be any other traffic back here so don't worry about slowing down too much," Sookie told me.

We went left and there was a small pond up ahead. She told me how her father and a couple of his buddies had dug the pond out themselves. It didn't get any deeper than ten feet, but there was a decent sized island where Sookie, Jason and their friends had camped out in the summer when they were kids. On the other side of the pond was Jason's house.

It was a simple ranch house that looked a lot like their parents' place. The front of the house actually faced away from the pond. The kitchen had a large deck coming off of it with a built-in barbecue pit. Sookie explained that was about all the cooking Jason was capable of doing without supervision.

"My brother grills a mean steak, but I wouldn't let him make mashed potatoes if my life depended on it," Sookie snickered.

Jason had the third quad parked in the garage. It had been Gran's at one point but at eighty-years-old, she was beyond her quad riding years. We rode around on the quad for a while with Sookie telling me which trails to take. There were hunting blinds in random spots all over the property, and we'd come upon several large deer.

The deer didn't really pay much attention to us, but Sookie said that was normal. "They're used to the quads zipping around back here," she told me as I slowed down.

We stopped to watch them for a little while until Sookie started to complain about the cold. I was amazed she could feel anything with all the clothing she had on. All the same, I got the quad going again and we headed back to the house. We approached from one of the trails that ended in the backyard. We drove around the side of the house to the garage, and I parked in the same spot we had left from.

Sookie climbed off the quad first and headed for the house. She hit the garage door button to close it up, and I followed her inside. We got all of the excess winter gear off, and Sookie went straight to the fireplace to get a fire going. It became glaringly obvious how little I knew about outdoorsy kinds of things. Thanks to Dad and Pops, I could probably build Sookie a table or a bookshelf, but I didn't know much of anything about building fires or going fishing.

"Are you hungry?" Sookie asked once she had the fire started.

"I could eat," I followed her up the stairs into the kitchen.

The 70s style wallpaper was a trip. There was a big picture window behind the big dining room table that overlooked most of the yard. I went over and looked out the window. Down below was the hot tub, and I smiled at the idea of hopping in there with Sookie.

"So do you have a taste for anything specific?" Sookie asked while she inventoried the fridge.

"Surprise me," I said, trusting her culinary skills to wow me.

"How about baked potato soup?" She suggested.

"Sounds good to me," I walked around to the functional part of the kitchen, but stayed out of the way so she could pull out the ingredients and cookware she needed to get dinner done.

"Wanna fry the bacon for me?" Sookie batted her eyelashes while putting a big pot on the stove to warm.

"Sure, but don't we need a frying pan?"

"Nope, this is a one pot meal," she smiled and handed me the thick cut bacon. "Just drop half of that package in there one strip at a time. It doesn't have to be fancy since we're just going to crumble it anyway."

The whole process was actually pretty simple, and before I knew it we were leaving the soup to simmer on the stove. The house smelled amazing. Sookie and I went down to the rec room and collapsed on the giant couch. She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned on the TV.

"What do you want to watch?" She asked, resting her head on my chest.

"Honestly, I'll probably fall asleep, so you choose," I told her and let my hand rest on her hip.

Of course, by giving Sookie control of the remote, we ended up watching Food Network. That freaky ass Sweet Genius guy was staring at me and I was wishing I hadn't let Sookie pick. The guy looked like a poor man's Dr. Evil, for fuck's sake. In the end it didn't matter since I was passed out about fifteen minutes later with Sookie stretched out on top of me.

She was the best human blanket ever. I liked the feeling of her lying on top of me like she was. It might sound weird, but it felt like she belonged there. Since she didn't move, I was guessing she felt the same way.

I woke to the sound of her whispering my name and brushing kisses on my lips and cheek. "Eric, wake up. Dinner is ready," she said softly.

"Don't wanna move," I staggered my words and wrapped my arm around her to keep her where she was.

"Well I'm hungry, so I'm going to go eat," she tried to wiggle away from me. "Eric! Let me go please."

"Comfy," I pouted. I didn't want to get up.

"If you let me up I'll get you a bowl of soup, you big baby," she pinched my nipple.

"Ouch!" I wasn't really hurt, but I hauled her closer to me anyway.

"Eric!" She fought back a little but she wasn't trying very hard to get away from me.

We wrestled for a bit, something we both seemed to excel at doing. I liked playing with her. We had done it enough to know each other's limits, and just how rough we could get without someone feeling like they were being beaten up. Being able to tackle each other or pin each other down was fun.

I managed to get my legs around her and then she was really stuck. Of course, that was a double edged sword since that meant she was in a prime spot to rub up against my crotch, and she almost always used that to her advantage. That afternoon was no different. Sookie dove forward and pressed her breasts against me while rubbing her pelvis against mine. Evil.

I retaliated by stretching forward toward her and going after the spot on her neck that I knew drove her crazy. She gasped and I felt her hand go up my t-shirt, her nails trailing along my side lightly from hip to ribs before she shifted a little and began tracing my abs. I upped the ante and tugged her shirt off entirely. Our lips met while I worked the cups of her bra down, and used my hands to cup her breasts instead. Her hips ground against mine, and I wanted to roll her over but there was nowhere else to go.

I loved the way her skin tasted, and I was pretty sure she would have a mark on her neck by the time I was done with her. Already she was flushed and breathing hard. When our eyes met again I knew that dinner was the furthest thing from either of our minds.

"I think we need to go downstairs," Sookie said and I couldn't agree more.

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><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

Seeing the expression on Eric's face as we drove up to the house had been quite a treat. He looked positively amazed by everything he was seeing. I had shown him pictures and warned him the property was enormous, but I don't think I adequately conveyed the amount of land we would be on. In a lot of ways, it would almost be like we were cut off from the rest of the world. We wouldn't have to worry about cars driving by, airplanes overhead, or the screeching of trains in the distance.

We might hear the call of wild animals, the howling of sharp winter winds and other sounds that regularly occurred in nature but that would be all we heard. That is until Jason got home. Then there would be snowmobiles, quads and probably the occasional burst of gunfire if he got it in him to go hunting. It still terrified me that Dad taught him to shoot, but in all honesty, Jason was actually pretty responsible when it came to guns. He knew they weren't toys and he didn't usually treat them as such. He did, however, sometimes act like he was a cowboy in the old west.

I think I've already established my brother isn't all there sometimes.

Riding around on the quads with Eric was fun. He'd never been on one before so it was a new experience for him. I was glad I got to be there to witness it. It was nice to be able to teach him something new.

By the time we got back to the house we were both tired and hungry. The only thing I could think of to really get the chill out of my bones was soup, and being the good Wisconsin girl I am, I wanted something I could smother in cheese. And honestly, who doesn't want a soup where the base is pretty much bacon gravy?

I hadn't planned on falling asleep, but what's a girl to do when she's parked in front of a cozy fire and lying on top of her sex on a stick boyfriend? I was powerless to stop it. Not that either of us was complaining. Hell, I knew for a fact that Eric was more than okay with me laying on top of him like I was a human blanket for him.

I woke up a little while later to find Eric sound asleep underneath me. About an hour had passed so I went up to the kitchen to check on the soup. It tasted amazing and the potatoes were cooked through. Dinner was ready. I got the cheese out of the fridge along with some green onion. I would have preferred chives but we didn't have any on-hand.

Eric was still in the same spot on the couch when I went back to him. The wrestling match that ensued when I tried to wake him wasn't something I counted on, but it was fun all the same. I liked that I could be a goof with Eric. I liked that we were comfortable enough with each other to be playful and not take everything seriously. And the best part of it was that it always ended in kisses that made my knees weak.

But then there was a moment where I knew the time had come. Playtime was over, and we had crossed a line somewhere. I needed him more than I ever had in the past, and for once I didn't want to stop. I wanted him—all of him. I didn't want to wait anymore.

"I think we need to go downstairs," I said to him and he nodded.

The fact that I jumped on Eric's back when we got off the couch would make anyone think we weren't headed downstairs to have sex, but that was exactly where we were going. The whole thing didn't feel quite real to me. It almost felt like I was watching it all play out from outside my own body.

I kissed his neck as he walked through the kitchen toward the stairs. I turned my head in time to see our reflection in the glass of the hutch along the wall to my right. I was smiling and I hadn't even realized it.

That was how I knew I had made the right choice.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, yes, I know, I'm the devil for stopping here but just think of what's to come (pun intended) in the next chapter. I'll try to post again tomorrow. Someone asked in reviews if I would start posting this every day since Can't Stop is finished, and while I would love to be able to do that I haven't finished writing this story yet so I have to stagger the chapters out a little. I'm working on it, but the tail end of this story is coming slowly to me. I think my brain is going into drama denial and doesn't want to watch these two suffer any more than they have to. Scribe and kjwrit have turned me into an angst baby. Blame them for the delays lol. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	33. Inked Virgins No More

**Okay, so this is it. This is the chapter y'all have been waiting for and I thank you so much for hanging in there. Is anyone else as nervous as Eric is right now? I know I was a little nervous for him when I wrote this chapter, but it was also time. They're ready. I tried to keep it as real as I could, but since this IS fanfiction I gave Eric a little extra talent in some things just because I can. I'll stop yammering now. See you at the bottom!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 33: Inked Virgins No More<span>

**EPOV**

Sookie stopped at the stove to turn off the burner and then we went down to her bedroom. She was half undressed already, so I pulled off my t-shirt to even up the score. There was an awkward moment when the momentum had been broken, but the loss of Sookie's bra got me back on track. She took her hair out of the knot it was in and I watched it tumble down her back.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" I asked her as I approached.

She smiled bashfully, but didn't look away. I tilted her chin up and leaned down to kiss her. Her lips were soft and slightly bee stung from our previous kisses. Her arms went around my neck and I lifted her off the floor. She picked up her legs so she landed on the bed in a kneeling position. Her hands went to the fly on my jeans, and she worked it open.

"Hold that thought," I said suddenly and went to my bag to get the condoms I'd packed. "I don't want to have to stop again," I told her as I put the box on the nightstand beside the bed.

"Me either," she leaned over and reached into the drawer of the little table for a lighter, and lit a couple of candles on the ledge above her bed.

The soft glow of the candles was much better than the harsh overhead lighting in the drop ceiling. Sookie turned off the lights and we were left in the dimly lit room. I wanted to see more of her so she compensated by turning on the closet light. It was better, but not ideal. But then Sookie was taking off her pants and the lighting ceased to matter.

"Come here," she curled a finger at me.

I stood between her parted legs and let her finish undressing me at her own pace. I was pretty sure I was hard enough to cut diamonds, but Sookie ignored that. She ran her fingers up and down my thighs, and leaned in to kiss my stomach and lick along the V that led down to what I should probably start calling "the command center."

Her hands moved around to my backside and she smiled up at me and said, "I love your ass." She squeezed to emphasize her point, and kept her hands there when she shifted her head and stuck her tongue out to swirl it around the head of my erection.

My hands went into her hair, and I watched the movement of her tongue and mouth. She moved slowly, teasingly, a little at a time. My eyes were fixed on hers when her lips finally wrapped around my cock, and I watched it disappear into her mouth. The warm wetness that surrounded me was a nice precursor to what it would feel like to be inside other parts of her.

She moved her head slowly, her tongue swirling and teasing as much as it could. Her right hand came around and stroked what didn't fit in her mouth. The combination of sensation felt awesome, but because it was still so new to me, keeping control of myself wasn't easy. When Sookie's other hand came around and touched my balls, I was done for.

"Shit, Sookie, I'm gonna come," I warned her.

She smiled with her eyes and sucked a little harder. My grip on her hair got tighter, and I was as deep down her throat as I could be when I came. Sookie moaned and gripped my hips to hold me steady. She continued to suck gently until I started getting soft again. When she released me from her mouth, she did so with a little pop and smiled up at me.

"I really fucking love you right now," I said in a breathy voice that made her laugh.

"Of course you do. What guy doesn't like blowjobs?" she smirked.

"I don't know, but I'm not that guy," I was still breathing hard.

Sookie was surprised when I moved and lifted her further back on the bed. She had her turn, now it was mine. I climbed up onto the bed and tackled her backward. She laughed and wrapped her legs around me.

"Don't get too comfortable there, lover," I kissed her softly.

"I'm about to have the best thirty seconds of my life. I should be comfortable for it," she teased.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be _forty-five seconds_. Don't underestimate me," I leaned down and kissed her again, even though she was laughing.

Sookie pulled back a little and held my face in her hands. "Hey, slow down for a second," she looked at me thoughtfully. "I just… I know we don't have any out of control expectations, but I don't want you to feel guilty if I don't get off the first time."

"That just means we have to keep practicing until we get it right," I grinned at her.

"Exactly," she rubbed her thumbs on my cheeks, "and no matter what, I love you."

"I love you too," I kissed the tip of her nose.

She was smiling up at me and led my mouth down to hers. I kissed her slowly and nibbled her bottom lip for a moment before licking the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth for me, and my tongue brushed against hers. The kiss deepened quickly, and it was all love and passion. I took my time, knowing that as much as I wanted her, she needed me to go slowly.

I wanted Sookie to enjoy it as much as I did. If that meant spending an hour on all the foreplay stuff, that was fine with me. My lips moved around her skin, tasting and nibbling as I went along. I spent time on her neck, collarbones, breasts, stomach… anywhere I could. I grazed my lips over the tattoo on her ribs, and wondered if we ever would have met if it wasn't for that day.

She lifted her hips when I peeled away her panties. I loved the way the little bit of candlelight made her skin glow. I had seen her naked before but it was different this time. I didn't know how explain it; it just was. There was softness in her eyes that I hadn't seen before. I started at the top of her feet after removing her socks, and kissed my way up her leg.

She squirmed when I got to her ticklish spots. I intentionally kissed the back of her knee because of it. I moved further and further up her legs, savoring the sweetness of her skin.

Her inner thighs were warm and soft. I felt Sookie shake a little, but when I looked up at her, she just smiled at me. She was okay. I listened for the little noises she made, and noted every move of her hips. I kissed her between her thighs, her juices glistening on her lower lips. God, she tasted good. I moaned against her skin and she gasped.

Her hand slipped into my hair, combing through it gently. I put her legs over my shoulders and licked up her slit. She moaned and I did it again. Little by little, I teased her until I finally let myself move to her clit.

"Oh God!" she cried out, tugging on my hair a little.

I wanted to hear that sound every day from that point on.

I kissed her clit the way I would her mouth and her other hand ended up in my hair too, holding me close to her. I kept it up until she was close to her orgasm, and then I slid a finger inside her. I knew I had to be gentle and let things build gradually.

"Oh God! Don't stop! Eric, don't stop!" she pleaded, and I moved a hand up to hold her down.

She convulsed and shuddered when she came, her walls tightening around my finger. But I didn't stop there. I backed off for a moment to let her recover, but I added another finger inside her, and slowly pumped them in and out.

"Are you okay?" I asked her and she giggled quietly.

"Are you kidding me? That was amazing," she ruffled my hair.

I grinned and curled my fingers a little, searching for that post that I knew would make her hips rocket off the bed. I knew I found it when she clenched up and shouted, "Oh fuck! Oh God!"

Her hands grasped the comforter instead of my hair, clutching it violently. I kept stroking that spot until she came a second time. The flood of her juices flowed onto my hand, and she lay there shaking and moaning even after I had removed my fingers and licked them clean. I kissed my way up her body, and she kissed me hungrily when I reached her lips.

"Do you want to keep going?" I asked her when I was hovering over her.

"Yes," she nodded, "I want more. I want you."

I kissed her fiercely and reached for the box of condoms. We didn't stop kissing until I realized trying to open the box at the same time wouldn't work. I rolled onto my back and took a deep breath to settle myself.

This was it.

I had been thinking about this moment for a long time. Sookie was so much more than I ever could have imagined. I suddenly didn't feel worthy with her. She was so beautiful, kind and just perfect in so many ways. But I wasn't stupid enough to question her. I did battle a little bit with the condom, but I ultimately got it on.

Sookie surprised me by climbing on top of me. I didn't mind it, but I wasn't expecting it. She braced her hands on my shoulders and I felt her shaking a little.

"Breathe, Sookie," I tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "If you want to stop, just tell me."

She shook her head almost violently and said, "No, I want this; I'm just nervous."

"Remember what we said? No matter what, I love you, right? Just breathe and take your time. We'll go as slow as you want," I assured her and she nodded.

Sookie leaned in and kissed me while one of her hands moved between us to position me. I felt her slide my cock up and down her slit and that alone felt fucking awesome. Then she put me at her opening and started to lower herself. I bit my lip in concentration to keep myself from driving up into her. She was so hot and wet, and I was barely inside her. As necessary as it was, I was starting to regret having told her we would go slowly. My body was screaming at me to do otherwise.

"Jesus, you're big," Sookie gasped as she slid down a little more, and her fingers dug into my shoulders.

It was a slow and steady process, and all of a sudden there was a barrier. I wasn't quite half way inside her yet. Sookie lifted up a little and my grip on her hips tightened. Our eyes met as she lowered herself again and the barrier was broken. She wasn't a virgin anymore. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes closed. A tear escaped one of them, and I leaned forward to kiss it away.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, stroking her hair.

"I will be," she took a deep breath and tried to smile as she moved down a little more.

I grunted and bit my lip again. When I was as deep as I could be, Sookie froze and let her eyes meet mine. My hands moved down to her hips again and held onto her tightly. Being inside her felt amazing. She was so warm and tight. The feeling of her squeezing around me was just… I didn't even have words.

"Are you ready?" Sookie asked.

"Yes," I said hoarsely.

She lifted her hips until I was almost all the way out of her, and then she lowered herself again. My instincts were screaming at me to go faster and harder, but I found them back. Up and down she went, her breathing hitching with each thrust of her hips. The combination of her moans and the slick heat that was pulsing around my cock for the first time ever made it hard for me to hold back.

"My legs are like jelly," Sookie gave a nervous laugh.

"We can change positions," I told her. I was totally letting her call the shots.

Sookie nodded and climbed off of me. She lay on her back and I shifted so I was on top of her.

"Better?" I asked.

She nodded again and pulled my face to hers to kiss me. I slid inside her again, and we both gasped and groaned when I got deeper than I had been before.

"Holy shit," I muttered and stilled for a moment so I didn't lose control and start pounding into her like I wanted to.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No," I shook my head, "it feels too good and I don't want to hurt you."

I pulled back and slid all the way in again. Sookie's nails raked against my back. I was careful not to go too hard or fast, but it didn't take long before I couldn't hold back anymore. I felt all the familiar rushes and pressures of an orgasm, but when I tried to speak it was just gibberish that came out of my mouth. I came harder than I ever had in the past, and with a loud noise that was somewhere between a grunt and a shout.

I tried not to drop on top of her, but that was a losing battle too. I collapsed on Sookie, and breathed in the delicate smell of her skin. Her fingers trembled against my sides and she turned her face to kiss my forehead and temple.

"You okay?" she whispered.

"I can't even…" I struggled to find words, "That was… thank you." I looked up at her and she was smiling.

I felt bad that she hadn't gotten the same pleasure out of it that I did, but I knew that would change in time. I kissed her softly and slowly pulled out of her. She winced a little when I did, and I carefully got rid of the condom. I realized then just what a messy business sex was. I grabbed the box of Kleenex off the nightstand and took a couple to clean her up with.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, moving the tissues over her glistening skin.

"I'm a little sore, but it'll go away," she said with a small smile.

"So, was that the best forty-five seconds of your life, or what?" I joked and she grabbed my hand to stop it from moving. She wanted my full attention and I gave it to her.

"I don't think it was the best sex we'll ever have, but that isn't what I'm going to remember about this. I'll remember how much you love me, and being able to feel that in a whole new way. I'm so glad I waited for you," Sookie said with tears in her eyes.

"Me too," I smiled back at her and lifted her hand to kiss it.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

I was hungry but I couldn't talk myself into getting out of bed quite yet. I needed a few minutes to just lay there and reflect. Eric was curled around me, which wasn't something new but it somehow felt different than it did in the past. Maybe it was because we were still very naked and there was the possibility that at any moment he might make a move to go for another round.

I wanted to, but I wasn't sure my body was ready for it yet. I needed a little recovery time. It was hard to say exactly how I was feeling. I was happy, of course, but it seemed like there should be something bigger jumping out at me. Maybe that's how you know you're with the right person. I wasn't feeling awkward or like I had to find something to fill the silence between us. We were perfectly content to stay right where we were.

"How are you feeling?" Eric whispered, his fingers ghosting up and down my arm. Goose bumps rose the wake of the gentle touches.

"Hungry," I admitted just before my stomach gurgled loud enough for my parents to hear in Louisiana.

Eric laughed behind me and said, "I can go grab us some soup if you want."

"No, I should get up. I need to make sure my legs still work," I snickered and tried to sit up. I was doing pretty well until Eric pulled me down again.

He kissed me sweetly and said, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being more than I ever could have hoped for," he said sincerely.

He could be so sweet sometimes it almost broke my heart. Even better, I knew he meant the things he was saying. I could see it in his eyes.

We probably could have laid there longer, just trading compliments and kissing on each other but I really did need to get up and eat something. I had a feeling I was going to need to keep my strength up. All the same, I gave in for a little while, but put the brakes on before either one of us could get too revved up. Eric located his boxers and I grabbed his t-shirt off the floor since mine was still somewhere in the den.

The way his eyes sparkled was unmistakable as we headed upstairs to the kitchen. I got down bowls while Eric retrieved cheese from the fridge. We dished up our soup, which was still plenty warm even though I'd turned off the burner more than an hour before. We took it down to the den where the fire needed another log if it was going to do anything other than look pretty.

While I got the fire situation straightened out, Eric parked himself on the couch. When I stood up and turned around he was looking at me funny. Not haha funny, but with that look I was just starting to get familiar with—the one I suspected I would be seeing pretty damn often from that day forward.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"That t-shirt is shorter on you than I thought," he said with a huskier tone than I was prepared for.

I looked down to see it was almost to my knees. "It's not that short."

"Yes, but you weren't standing up a moment ago," he reminded me and my face flushed with the realization that I had just totally flashed him without realizing it.

"Oops?" I wasn't even sorry, if I was being honest.

"That was no oops, sweetheart," he handed me my soup.

"Well you'll just have to wait for later. A girl needs to eat if she's going to be able to keep up with you," I dipped my spoon into my bowl and stirred in the bacon, cheese and chives.

We settled into watching _National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation_ while we ate. Eric went back for seconds, and when he went for thirds, he took my bowl with him to refill it. He was like a bottomless pit sometimes. Thankfully there was enough soup in the pot to feed a small army or, as the case may be, a one man army.

I figured when Eric was done eating I was going to end up getting molested or pawed at, but instead he set his bowl on the coffee table next to mine. We shifted around so we were lying on the couch side by side, and before I knew it we were both out cold.

When I woke up it was pitch dark outside. It was nice to see such a dark, cloudless sky. I loved Chicago but the sky just wasn't the same there. More often than not, the sky took on almost orange hue thanks to all of the pollution in the air. The stars twinkled and I seriously considered waking Eric up to show him just how clearly the stars could be seen.

He'd told me he could see them pretty well from his backyard, but there were just so many blinking away over our heads. It was almost mesmerizing. Carefully, I extracted myself from Eric's arms and got off the couch. I took our bowls to the kitchen to rinse them out and then put away the leftovers. We would probably be eating soup for days, but I didn't mind. It was cold and soup was good for cold days.

I was in the middle of washing dishes when the creaking of the floor alerted me to the giant that was approaching me from behind. He was trying to be stealthy, I knew that much. Unfortunately, my house seemed to be unwilling to cooperate since I not only heard him, but saw his reflection in the window above the sink. Just for his benefit, I jumped a little when he touched me.

"Way to sneak up on me," I chastised even though I had seen him coming.

"You weren't there when I woke up," he buried his face in my neck. I liked having it there.

"You looked peaceful so I didn't want to wake you, and I needed to get this stuff straightened up and put away before the leftovers are no good," I turned my face and of course he kissed me.

Eric's hands settled on my hips and he rubbed against me. I froze for just a moment, still unaccustomed to the idea of being dragged off to a dark room for the sole purpose of having sex, but the idea was growing on me—almost as much as it was growing on Eric. I giggled in my head, knowing that if I did so out loud Eric was going to think I was laughing at him.

I was still washing the spoons when Eric's hands started moving around and I squirmed when one of them moved between my thighs. I wasn't expecting it. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Playing," he nipped at my shoulder.

Well then… okay.

* * *

><p><strong>Not that I expect anyone to complain about it, but the next couple of chapters are pretty much a smutfest. Eric's got a birthday coming up, after all. I can only imagine what Sookie will give him for it. Actually, I know what she gives him and <em>damn<em>. But we'll get there soon enough. Thanks for reading!**


	34. Timing is Everything

Chapter 34: Timing is Everything

**SPOV**

I felt like I should brace myself but that would only make it more painful. I hadn't been exaggerating when I told Eric he was big. Hell, if anything I was downplaying his size if for no other reason than to make myself feel better. Intimidating was a good word to describe it, really. The more sarcastic voice in my head said his body wasn't built for a beginner like me, but I knew I would get past it soon enough.

Fortunately for me, he realized he couldn't just start pounding away at me like I'm sure he wanted to. I was looking forward to getting to that point, when we could be a little more spontaneous and just jump each other whenever the mood struck. For the time being, we were going to have to keep taking it slowly. He was gentle and patient, which only made me want him more.

"Okay?" he grunted, his eyes fixed on mine.

I nodded and he slid a little deeper inside me. My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. I liked that he kissed me a lot. It was like he was trying to calm me down, but I was pretty sure it slowed him down too. When he was buried inside me he stilled, waiting for my cue to start moving again.

It was probably torture for him, but I took an extra moment to just savor the feeling of him inside me. It was still such a foreign feeling. I felt full, stretched in the most amazing way. We were connected in a way that neither of us had ever shared with another person. I didn't know if Eric was going to be my last, but I was damn happy he was my first. I had made the right choice with him.

I squeezed my muscles around him inside me and his eyes went wide. "Shit, did I hurt you?" I asked when he made a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a groan. "I'm sorry; I won't do that again."

"It didn't hurt," he said quickly. "Felt good, too good."

"Want me to do it again?" I offered with a hint of a smile.

"Only if you want this to be over before it starts," he warned and I couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Well we can't have you dropping your time. You have a record to break," I wrapped my legs around him.

He smiled at me and I was glad that neither of us was too uptight about sex. We had always been open about it in the past, and I was glad to see that hadn't changed. I knew he was bothered by the fact that I hadn't had an orgasm our first time out, but that was honestly the furthest thing from my mind at the time. I was so overwhelmed by so many other thoughts that getting off just didn't factor into the equation for me.

Eric nibbled on my neck as his hips moved, sliding in and out of me over and over. I moaned in his ear and then against his lips. His hand moved between the two of us and he rubbed my clit. My nails dug into his shoulders, but the fluttering of my muscles made Eric slow down.

"What's wrong?" I panted.

"I don't want to…" he trailed off.

"Eric, it's okay. Keep going," I insisted. I didn't want him to get pissed off at himself. In time it would be better and he would last longer. It was okay.

He finished a few seconds later and almost immediately pulled out of me. I didn't even see him take the condom off before he was traveling down my body and burying his face between my legs. His lips wrapped around my clit and his tongue flicked against it quickly. The assault was almost brutal, and when I came I was screaming his name and pulling his hair with one hand.

It wasn't exactly what he envisioned, I'm sure, but it was a pretty sweet consolation prize.

"What was that?" I breathed heavily, watching him kiss his way back up my body.

"I will never again leave you hanging," he was dead serious and I would have laughed if I wasn't sure it would hurt his feelings.

I was a lucky, lucky girl.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

I wanted her again. Maybe twenty minutes had passed since our last go 'round, and I wanted more. I tried to talk my body out of it. Rationally, I knew Sookie physically probably wasn't up for it. Unfortunately my body wasn't really into listening to reason. All my body knew was that we were naked and Sookie's perfect ass was pressed against me.

_If I just lifted her leg…_

"Again?" Sookie giggled and I didn't even realize my hand had moved of its own volition to that warm, wet space between her legs.

"Shit, I'm sorry," I apologized and started to move my hand away.

"Don't apologize," she turned her head. "In fact, I was thinking that maybe if you waited until I was really warmed up before we got to the actual sex that we might finish closer to the same time."

I knew Sookie didn't care about it, that she was suggesting it for me and that only made me love her more. That plan hadn't occurred to me but I was glad she mentioned it. I was also more than willing to give it a try, and since she didn't seem to have any objections I kept on touching her in ways I knew would get her going. I licked and nibbled at the salty sweetness of her neck, moving her hair out of the way with my nose.

She was so wet and warm. My fingers slid inside her and from the angle I was at, I must have been rubbing against her g-spot because she was rolling her hips and thrusting to meet the strokes of my fingers. My palm rubbed against her clit and it didn't take long before she was warning me that she was close. She reached for yet another condom and handed it back to me.

I was going to be one happy fucker when we got rid of those.

For the time being, though, they were necessary. I got it on in record time and eased her leg up so it was resting on mine. "Touch yourself for me, Sookie," I whispered in her ear.

She did as I asked and it was a shame I couldn't see it because watching her get herself off was a huge turn-on. I entered her slowly from behind, and the different position obviously brought new sensations for both of us. It amazed me how different sex could feel from one position to another. It was even more amazing how much Sookie seemed to like it.

"Oh fuck, Eric, I'm gonna come," she warned me and I wasn't even all the way in yet.

I took a chance and pushed a little deeper. The fluttering of her muscles drew me deeper inside her as well, and I was only able to thrust into her a few times before she came. I tried to keep thrusting but I couldn't resist the urge to stay still while her muscles constricted around my cock. It took all the concentration I had not to blow my load right then and there.

Knowing I was the reason she was crying out like she was, and that she was finally enjoying sex the same way I had been was fucking awesome. I started moving my hips again and wondered how long I would be able to hold out. I gave her only a few seconds to recover behind I reached around and began to rub her clit. I wanted to feel her come again. It was amazing.

"Eric, slow down," she panted.

"Too rough?"

"No, that's fine. I just don't know if I can come again," she said breathlessly.

"I think you can, lover," I tapped my fingers against her clit and her muscles tightened again.

"Oh God," she moaned, her hips moving to meet my thrusts.

"What if I put you on your hands and knees, Sookie? Would you like that?" I suggested.

The idea of her like that, bent over and waiting for me to take her… I had to slow down again or I was going to ruin it. Sookie lowered her leg and I pulled out of her so she could shift her position. When she got up on her hands and knees in front of me, I thought for a moment that I had died and gone to heaven.

She was offering herself to me.

I would be a fool to decline.

I would never insult her that way. I got up on my knees behind her, lined my cock up with her opening and pushed in again. Her hands tightened on the sheets, and a moment later the room was full of the sounds of our heavy breathing and my skin slapping against hers. My hand was back to reaching around in front of her, my fingers playing with her clit while the other hand held onto her hips.

I was thrusting a little harder than before, but once again I came before her. However, I hadn't pulled out when she came again. It was the best thing ever.

We both collapsed on the bed. I get rid of the condom and pulled her close to me. I was never letting her go. Ever. I didn't care if it sounded obsessive or needy. She was mine.

"That was…" Sookie sputtered, still breathing hard and pressed against the mattress. "Not right now, because I can't move, but we need to do that again."

She took the words right out of my mouth.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

"Don't do it!" Sookie yelled as I lifted my arm with the enormous snowball in it.

"Do what?" I asked innocently.

"Whatever it is you're planning on doing with that," she backed away from me a little more.

"You mean this?" I chased after her, snowball in hand, and tackled her onto a snow bank and kissed her.

The little minx kissed me back but grabbed a handful of snow and put it down the front of my coat. Oh she was in trouble. Big, big trouble.

"You better run," I warned her and she took off running and laughing.

I gave her a few seconds worth of a head start before I took off after her. Sookie was pretty fast, but thanks to my much long legs it didn't take much for me to catch up with her. I caught her around her waist and swung her around, which would have been okay if it wasn't for the patch of ice I happened to be standing on. I lost my footing and we fell awkwardly with me trying to make sure I took the brunt of the fall.

"Oof!" we said as we hit the ground.

Snow was _not_ a pillow or cushion of any kind. I was finding that out the hard way. It looked soft and fluffy but it really wasn't.

"Are you okay?" I asked her when I sat up.

Sookie was laughing and clutching her side, which made me nervous. There were tears in her eyes but that could have been from the cold just as easily as it could have been from being hurt.

"Sookie?"

"I'm fine," she gasped and sat up. "Cold, but fine."

We had been outside playing for about an hour. My feet were starting to get numb and I told her so. I got up first and offered her a hand to help her up. We walked toward the house together and she paused by the hot tub on the pack patio.

"Wanna go for a swim in here?" she tapped the cover over the top.

"Do you think that's a good idea with how cold it is?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"You won't even feel the cold, I promise," she insisted. "But we should shovel a path so we aren't walking on snow when we come outside."

"Then let's do that then," I shrugged.

"Be right back," Sookie smiled at me and took off around the side of the house probably to get to the garage where the shovels were.

We had been dumped with about eight inches of snow overnight, but neither of us had noticed it. It was definitely fair to say we were too focused on other things, most of them naked. Not that we really had plans to go anywhere else, but the snow was a great excuse to stay close to the house when really it was because there was the chance that at any moment, we might want to rip each other's clothes off. Personally, I didn't think we needed any excuses. The fact that either of us had gotten out of bed was a pretty big deal.

Sookie came back with a shovel in one hand and a bucket of salt in the other. I took both from her and insisted she go inside to get warmed up and start a fire.

"Are you sure? I can help," she offered.

"I'm sure. I'll be right in," I leaned down to kiss her, and then playfully slapped her ass when she turned around to go inside.

She shot a naughty little look over her shoulder and then went inside. I got to work shoveling the snow off the concrete slab that made up their patio. Snow was much heavier than I thought it would be, but it was a good work out for the arms. It didn't take too long to clear off a pretty good portion of the patio, and once I had the snow removed I sprinkled a pretty liberal layer of salt.

I turned around to find Sookie stretched out on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. I leaned the shovel up against the side of the house and then opened the sliding glass door. I set the bucket of salt inside and then stepped into the house. The door slid closed behind me and I bent to take off my boots so I wouldn't get the carpet all wet. The carpet looked like it was probably as old as the addition it was attached to. It was an oddly patterned red/orange/brown monstrosity that couldn't have even been good looking when it was first put down.

"I set the timer on the hot tub," Sookie said as I pulled off my coat.

My pullover was wet thanks to the snow she had shoved down the front of my jacket, which reminded me I owed her a little something. I was curious to see how she would respond, so I pulled off my sweater and dropped it on the floor. Sookie watched me intently as I pulled off my jeans as well, since they were also wet from tromping through the snow. I picked up my wet clothes and headed for the stairs so I could take them down to the basement to put them in the drier.

When I got back to where Sookie was still lying on the couch, she opened the blanket that was wrapped around her to reveal that she was naked. My day had just gotten infinitely better. I smiled, pulled off the rest of my clothes and lay down next to her. This was definitely the warm up I was hoping for, and it seemed Sookie had been thinking the same since she produced a condom from underneath a pillow a short time later.

I loved touching her, any part of her, but the slickness between her thighs was the best. We got a little carried away and I ended up falling on the floor and pulling Sookie down with me. She landed on top of me, thankfully, but reached up onto the couch for the condom. Sookie ripped it open and I didn't try to take it from her to put it on myself. I was perfectly content to let her have a go at it since she seemed intent on doing so.

She leaned forward and kissed me while she did a little bit of battle before getting the condom on. I never fully understand why guys thought they were such a nuisance in the past. I mean, small price to pay for not having to worry about being a parent before you were ready. Now I got it. They could be a pain in the ass to get on and stopping what you were doing to find one, or to take one off after it was used, could be a total mood killer.

My hands were on her breasts, kneading them a little roughly while she lined me up with her entrance and slowly started to sink down onto my cock. Her mouth moved to my neck, sucking and biting just a little and my grip on her breasts got a little tighter. When I was buried inside her she sat up and held my hands to her breasts as she started to rise up again. Every couple of strokes she would grind against me and she did this thing where she rolled her hips that felt pretty fucking awesome.

Why had we waited so long to have sex? The reasons just weren't coming to me at the moment. One thing I knew for sure was that if I had known how amazing all of this felt, I wouldn't have been able to control myself. With that thought in mind, I pulled Sookie's face to mine and kissed her hard.

We rolled over and I braced myself on my hands on either side of her shoulders. I felt her knees bump against my sides and her small hands landed on my ass in attempts to pull me deeper inside her. I found I could go a little faster than before without hurting her, but going too fast meant I would lose it before I wanted to. Self-control was getting a little easier but I knew it would be a while before I could really draw things out.

"Harder," Sookie panted against my lips and that was the last thing I expected to hear.

I growled and gave her what she wanted. She cried out, her neck arching perfectly for me to nibble on. I looked down between our bodies and watched myself sliding in and out of her. Sexy as it was, it was a huge mistake because it sent me over the edge. Sookie moved her hand between us and finished herself off.

It felt amazing, but one of these days we were going to get the timing down.

* * *

><p><strong>They're so cute with all the pawing at each other. Someone mentioned being worried that Eric only wants her for sex now and I can assure you that isn't the case. This is just something new for both of them and it feels damn good. They have tons of free time and no one around to bother them, so it makes total sense that they would take advantage of it. Expect to see them smutting it up every chance they get from here on out, but their relationship isn't just about sex. There will still be conversations and other parts of their lives they have to deal with when they get back to Chicago. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	35. The Bigger Man Card

**For those of you who were curious or asked for it, I made the baked potato soup yesterday that Sookie made in this story. I posted the recipes as near as I could get it (since I don't actually follow one) on my fanfic tumblr www(dot)makesmyheadspinfanfic(dot)tumblr(dot)com.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 35: The Bigger Man Card<span>

**EPOV**

"Wake up," Sookie whispered in my ear, her lips grazing against it.

I smiled without opening my eyes. We had been in Wisconsin for three days, and had spent most of that time naked or figuring out how to get each other that way. I was pretty sure I was addicted to her. Just leaving her alone long enough to go to the bathroom was difficult. I didn't want to think about what it would be like when we got back to Chicago. Sleeping alone was going to suck.

"Eric," she purred against my neck.

She was warm and pressed against me. I didn't want to move. At all. Ever. I wanted to stay just like we were. That is until her hand moved down my chest to my stomach and then farther south. I groaned when she wrapped her hand around my cock.

"I'm up," I opened my eyes and kept smiling.

"Yes, you certainly are," she said as she started to stroke me.

"It's an excellent side effect of sleeping naked with my incredibly sexy girlfriend," I pulled her face to mine and kissed her softly.

Sookie was bright-eyed and had the most amazing sex hair. She trailed kisses down my neck to my chest and then disappeared under the comforter to keep going. She continued stroking me and when I felt her breath on my cock I froze. Not being able to see what she was doing, or where she might be going next was kind of fun. But then she threw the comforter out of the way and swung one of her legs over my chest so she was straddling me.

My hands ran up her thighs to her perfect ass, squeezing a little before I left my fingers move down between her legs. Her warm tongue ran up the length of my shaft and she swirled it around the head of my cock. She kept stroking and just sucked on the head for a few moments before taking more of me in her mouth. It was awesome how much better she was getting at giving head. If she wasn't careful I was going to start needing them on the regular like a diabetic needs insulin.

I pulled her closer to my face by her hips, and then spread her open with my thumbs. Kissing Sookie was always a good time, but it was even better when it was between her legs. She moaned around my cock when my tongue slipped inside her. My back arched a little when she took me a little deeper down her throat than she ever had in the past.

I moved my tongue around a little, going back and forth between her clit and her opening until I was able to bring my fingers to the party as well. Her hips started to rock a little and the vibration of her moans around my cock drove me crazy. I wanted to throw her onto her back and bury myself inside her, but that didn't seem to be on the program at the moment. It was early in the day, so there was always later.

But then she surprised me by releasing me from her mouth and pulling away from me. I was going to ask what was wrong when she went for a condom. We were going to need more of them. If I counted right we only had one more out of a box of twelve. Like I said, we were pretty much constantly pawing at one another.

Sookie had become somewhat of a pro at working the condom on, and so I let her do it all by herself. She climbed onto my lap and I sat up so we were face to face. Our lips met while her hips lifted and I aligned my cock with her opening. She was sucking on my neck when she started to slide down.

The best thing about Sookie being on top of me was having her breasts pretty much right there in my face, and I attacked them immediately. I loved the delicate sweetness of her skin and how no matter what, Sookie was pretty much always warm. Her fingers ran through my hair while her hips rocked against mine. The tightness and heat surrounding my cock was as awesome as ever, and the little kisses she pressed to the side of my face almost tickled.

She took away my new favorite toys and leaned back to brace herself on her hands behind her. Her legs shifted and she started to move up and down instead of back and forth, and the bounce of her breasts was immediate and mesmerizing. For a few moments I just sat there watching them before diving forward to attack them again. Sookie giggled and we somehow ended up rolled over so she was under me.

She drew my face to hers and her knees hooked over my arms. How that happened, I'm not sure. Our lips met again and I felt one of her hands move between us. My forehead pressed against hers and our eyes met. Hers were so incredibly intense and a little darker than usual. There was so much desire and passion to be found in them that it was a little overwhelming.

"I'm so close, Eric," she breathed against my lips and then bit my bottom one before sucking it into her mouth. "Harder, babe. Fuck me harder."

I growled in response, not quite used to hearing her say things like that yet. When I pushed her legs a little closer to her chest her hips lifted, changing the angle I was thrusting into her at.

"Eric! Oh don't stop! Right there!" She screamed, which spurred me on.

Her muscles started to flutter and then clamp down as her orgasm exploded. Her nails dug into my back and I was sure it was going to look like I fell on a rake but I didn't care. The rhythmic squeezing around my cock pulled me over the edge and with just a few more thrusts I came as well, and fell on top of her. That was definitely how I wanted to be woken up from that point on.

"You realize that's the way I want to be woken up from now on, right?" I nuzzled her sweaty neck.

She giggled and kissed my head. "I think that's a great idea. We're going to need more condoms though. We just used the last one."

"We did? I thought we had one left?" I pulled out of her and moved to get rid of the condom.

"One broke, remember?" She reminded me and I laughed.

"Oh I remember," I leaned down and scooped her up out of bed.

"What are you doing?" She asked as I carried her out of the bedroom.

"We need to shower, eat breakfast and then run into town for supplies," I kissed her and then set her down on the floor.

"Ahhhh! Cold floor! Cold floor!" She jumped onto the bathmat while I started the shower. "I really hate the tile in here."

"I'll keep you warm," I promised her with a wink.

True to my word, I lifted her up when I kissed her again and she wrapped her legs around my waist. Her cold feet brushed against my ass, making me jump in surprise. I stood there on the mat with Sookie wrapped around me until steam filled the room. The hot spray of the shower felt good and we took our time getting cleaned up.

When we were through I went to get dressed while Sookie dried her hair. Upstairs I made us some oatmeal and added butter, walnuts, raisins and a little sugar Sookie came up just as I was finishing it up. She poured herself a cup of coffee while I went for a glass of milk. Sookie sliced some banana into her oatmeal and then came over to the table to eat with me.

"So is there anything else you want to see while we're out today?" Sookie asked while adding a little more sugar to her oatmeal.

"I'd like to see everything but it's supposed to snow this afternoon," I reminded her.

"Oh yeah," she grinned and blew on her oatmeal. "You know, being snowed in wasn't this much fun when I was a kid. Snow days usually meant Jason would be building forts with Hoyt and the guys and I would end up baking cookies with Mom."

"That doesn't sound so bad," I smiled at her.

"Yeah but that was _after_ we finished shoveling the paved parts of the driveway."

"Ouch," I winced.

"Yeah," she took a bite of her oatmeal. "As we got older it sort of became a competition between the two of us to see who could finish their sector first. Jason, being the lazy asshole he is most of the time, bitched that Dad gave me a smaller plot to work on."

"Did he?" I lifted and eyebrow and Sookie scoffed at me.

"I might be the apple of my father's eye, but he treated his kids equally when it came to manual labor. Why else do you think I learned how to blow up beaver dams?" Sookie pointed out.

"My sisters got lucky," I pouted a little.

"The downside to having a Marine for a father?" Sookie took another bite of her oatmeal.

"One of a few," I nodded my agreement.

"Well from where I'm sitting it did you more good than harm, and the same is true for the way my parents raised me. That said, I was thinking about doing something a little naughty for New Year's Eve," Sookie said and I smiled with my mouthful of cereal.

"What's that, Miss Stackhouse?" I took a drink of milk.

She waited until I swallowed before saying, "I was thinking of raiding Jason's liquor cabinet, but I don't know how you feel about that sort of thing. I've never seen you drink."

"I have, once or twice, but it isn't something that I thought was really all that great. People make it sound like being drunk is so wonderful but I just felt like a dizzy giant," I explained and Sookie laughed.

"Yeah I don't need you to timbering out on me, but being a little buzzed together could be fun," she shrugged.

"Yes, it could be. Being buzzed isn't bad," I admitted.

There was that pleasant, pre-drunk stage that I didn't mind at all. Getting just enough alcohol into myself to be completely silly and goofy with Sookie could be a hell of a lot of fun.

"So when are we breaking and entering to commit petty larceny?" I smirked over at Sookie.

"Whenever we leave the house," she shrugged and took another bite of her oatmeal.

I really wasn't much of a drinker but if Sookie was involved I would be willing to make an exception. It was New Year's Eve we were talking about. We certainly weren't going to be driving anywhere that night and I doubted we would get out of control. All of the possibilities spinning through my brain made me smile. If we did it right, I was pretty sure it would be a New Year's Eve I would never forget.

* * *

><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

The grocery store was crowded, but that was to be expected with the amount of snow that was forecasted for the next couple of days. We stocked up on the essentials. You know… bread, cheese, eggs, milk, butter and condoms. After the grocery store I showed Eric where I had gone to high school.

There wasn't much else to see in town. The most exciting part of it was just off the county road where the grocery store was. If the weather had been better I would have taken him up Rib Mountain, but it was too cold for that. I wasn't much of a skier and since Eric didn't have much interest in winter sports, it would have been a waste of time to go up there. Maybe if we came back in the summer I'd take him.

We stopped by Jason's house on the way home and I nabbed a bottle of vodka from the cabinet he kept all the booze in. I doubted he would even notice it was gone, but if he did it wouldn't be too hard to convince him he'd drunk it all himself. I loved my brother, but sometimes his simpleton ways were to an advantage to us all. It was also obvious that he had a girlfriend since his house was immaculately clean. Jason was a bit of a slob by nature, so I was guessing that Amy was probably responsible for the neatness.

"Nice house," Eric said as he stood in the living room. "Your father and brother built it?"

"They did a lot of the framing and drywall work," I smiled over my shoulder. "Mom and I did the tiling in the kitchen and bathroom and way more painting than my arms ever wanted to do."

The smile on Eric's face faded and he said, "I suddenly feel like you have more of a man card than I do."

I laughed and said, "Honey, that's ridiculous. You are plenty man."

"Yeah, but you can tile rooms, build stuff and you play with explosives."

I pulled the bottle I wanted and stood up. "Is that a problem? Because I can also bake a cake, do my own laundry and rock a wonder bra like nobody's business."

"It's just making me realize how limited my interests are, that's all," he pouted a little.

I set the bottle of vodka down on the coffee table and went over to Eric. "Eric, listen to me. I like who you are right this moment. I like that you read books that would make my head get all foggy and that you have this amazing memory that allows you to quote things to me that I've never heard before. I love your sense of humor. I love that you're willing to try new things just because I ask you to and I really, _really_ love all that beautiful ink you have on your skin.

"You don't have to be able to build a house or be some rough and tumble outdoorsman for me to love you. I'm glad that you _aren't_ that guy. If that was what I wanted I would have stuck around here and ended up dating one of my brother's friends, but I didn't. I moved away on purpose and found you, and I'm ridiculously happy with you, okay?"

My response was a kiss that made my toes curl. I found myself backed up against the living room wall with Eric's tongue battling mine. The puffiness of our parkas kept us from getting as handsy as we would have liked and even though there was a part of me that was seriously considering stripping my clothes off right then and there, the idea of having sex in my brother's house freaked me out. Doing it in my parents' house was awkward enough. I was constantly running around making sure we weren't leaving any evidence behind. I was just being paranoid but the last thing I needed was for either of my parents to find a condom wrapper somewhere.

It was one thing for them to assume that Eric and I were sleeping together, but it was something else entirely for them to have evidence of it. I talked to my parents about a lot of things and I was pretty open with them about most of my life, but who I had sex with wasn't any of their business. More importantly, it wasn't my brother's business. I didn't need Jason yapping away in my ear, telling me what a mistake I was making, or threatening to beat the shit out of any guy who hurt me. As down on himself as he was for not being man enough—which was just crazy- I was pretty sure Eric could kick Jason's ass. Eric might not have a bunch of rugged hobbies, but he was bigger, younger, stronger and faster than Jason.

On second thought, maybe an ass kicking would be good for Jason…

The thought of Eric in a _Fight Club_ type setting made my knees go weak, and before I could let myself get too carried away on that idea I pulled away from him. "We have to go," I grabbed his hand and the bottle of vodka.

"No we don't," he pulled me back and kissed my neck.

"Yes we do if you want more of that," I rubbed against him and he growled in my ear.

Good God almighty.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Eric asked when I led him toward the patio doors.

"Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to do something a little riskier?" I reminded him as I pulled the patio door open.

"Yeah, but are you sure this isn't going to make us catch pneumonia, or something?" Eric asked I stepped outside.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," I walked toward the hot tub. "But I'm getting in."

With that, I dropped my towel on the picnic table nearby and climbed into the tub. I was as naked as the day I was born and it wasn't at all surprising when Eric followed me a few moments later. He, on the other hand, had a pair of boxers on. He was so cute with that nervous expression on his face as he climbed into the water.

Once he was settled next to me I said, "See? You can't even feel the cold."

"I don't know," he said with a hint of playful desire in his eyes, "I feel a little chilly."

"You do?" I played along and turned to climb onto his lap. "What can I do to fix that?"

I sat up on my knees on either side of his legs so that my breasts were mostly out of the water. I let myself bob up and down a little and then moved in to kiss the side of his neck. He was plenty warm but I was happy to play along with him since it would come out well for both of us in the end. Not to mention, I would be lying if I said I had never wondered what it would be like to have sex in the hot tub.

For the moment I would settle for making out, since that was nice too. I was just about to wrestle Eric out of his boxers when I heard a horn honk on the other side of the house. I pulled back from Eric and listened for who might be out front. I hears the doorbell ringing inside the house but made no move to get up.

"Who the hell is that?" Eric asked in a whisper.

"I have no idea," I shook my head.

"Why don't we just ignore it and whoever it is will go away," he suggested and gently turned my face to his again.

We were getting back to where we had been when I heard a familiar voice call out my name. "Sookie! Sookie I know you're here! Mom saw you in town earlier!" Sam called as he walked around the side of the house.

Oh fuck my life! The last thing I needed was for Sam to see me naked! I sank down into the water as much as I could, and being the good boyfriend that he is, Eric got in front of me to block my nudity. Whether he did that for my modesty or because he had a bit of a jealous side, I didn't really care. Sam appeared and then froze as he realized I wasn't alone. Apparently Mrs. Merlotte failed to notice my giant boyfriend who was stuck to me like white on rice the whole time.

"You have company…" Sam said uncomfortably.

"You should have called, Sam," I shook my head.

"I didn't know you were… Mom said she saw you at the grocery store earlier."

"Yeah I figured as much. Sam this is my boyfriend Eric. Eric, this is my ex-boyfriend Sam," I introduced them.

Awkward moment, party of three, your table is ready.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah so there's a moment in fiction no one wants to experience in real life, right? Eric is the right blend of cute and crazy for suggesting he's not man enough, but that's why we love him so much. At least that's what I think. I really need to get cracking on more chapters of this story but I've got a shiny new Sookie who has been yapping in my ear all day and refuses to let me work on anything else. I'd be mad at her but she's had a rough life. Poor thing. Thanks for much for reading!<strong>


	36. The Past, the Present and the Future

Chapter 36: The Past, the Present and the Future

**SPOV**

Eric got out of the tub first and held up my towel for me so I wouldn't go flashing my bare ass, or anything else, at Sam when I got up. Sam and I had dated when we were seniors in high school. The relationship was over before first semester ended. It didn't end badly, per se, but there had definitely been some awkwardness initially after it happened, as was to be expected under the best of circumstances in a breakup.

"What are you doing here, Sam?" I asked once I was out of the tub.

"Thought I'd come see how you're doing. We haven't talked in a while. I guess now I know why," Sam looked Eric up and down.

"I've been busy," I headed for the patio door and Eric, at least, followed right behind me.

It didn't escape anyone's notice that Eric hadn't bothered with his towel at all. Did he feel like he didn't need it, or was it an attempt at intimidation? But then Eric kept right on walking and went up the stairs into the kitchen.

"So, you uh, you're seeing someone," Sam closed the patio door behind him.

"For just under four months now," I said, knowing full well that that was just about the amount of time I had been with Sam before we called it quits.

"Four months, huh? How's it going?" he ran his hand through his dark strawberry blond hair.

"It's great. Eric is great," I smiled and moved over to the fireplace to get a fire going. "How've you been?"

"Okay, I guess. It's the same old, same old up here, you know?"

"Yeah, that's kind of why I left in the first place," I said as I stacked some logs.

Heavy footsteps told me Eric was coming back. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see him walk into the room and he was carrying my bathrobe. My hero.

"Here. I thought you might want this," Eric held the robe out to me.

"Thanks," I smiled at him and slipped myself into it before dropping my towel.

Eric had ditched his soggy boxers for a pair of track pants, but didn't bother putting a shirt on. "Can I get you something to drink, Sam?" Eric offered, which surprised me.

"Uh, no, thanks. I won't be staying long. I just wanted to see how Sookie's doing," Sam took a few steps back toward the patio door.

"You don't have to go," I leaned against Eric, hoping that Sam wouldn't stay for too long.

Hanging out with him for a while wouldn't be completely awful, but the fact that I was still feeling pretty naked didn't exactly make me want to sit around and shoot the breeze. Eric was being pretty cool about Sam being there, but then again he had no reason to be jealous. Sam and I had been pretty good friends at one point but we hadn't really been all that close since we broke up. Since it was a small town we knew the same people and had a lot of mutual friends. I was surprised he didn't already know about Eric, to be honest. Word always traveled fast.

"No, I should get going. I'm sure you two don't need a third wheel hanging around. It was nice to meet you though, Eric," Sam waved from the door.

"Likewise," Eric nodded.

"Take good care of her. Sookie's a keeper," Sam winked at me.

"Thanks Sam. It was good to see you," I smiled at him.

"Same here. See ya around," he said and then let himself out of the house.

"Well… that was weird," I sighed and plopped down on the couch.

"Got any other ex-boyfriends that might decide to pop over for a visit?" Eric asked as he sat down next to me.

"I hope not," I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. "So do we need to have a talk about our former significant others?"

"I don't think so," he said with a slight shrug.

"Are you sure? I don't mind talking about it," I looked up at him.

"Is there something I need to know?" he laced his fingers with mine.

"No, I don't think so. Sam and I weren't together for too long, and it didn't cause me any epic heartbreak when it ended; it was just time," I shrugged and squeezed my palm to his.

"How many ex-boyfriends do you have?" Eric asked in spite of just having said we didn't need to talk about it.

"Three. None of them were super serious though, and all of the relationships ended on relatively good terms. I was hurt the first time, but it wasn't like one of those can't eat, can't sleep, I'll never love again kind of breakups. What about you?"

Eric was quiet for a moment and I looked up to see a thoughtful expression on his face. "I've had a couple of girlfriends. Not all of my previous relationships ended well."

I didn't press for more information. I figured Eric would talk when or if he felt like it. Talking about exes with your current could be kind of awkward, even if the current relationship a person was in was a good one. Considering all the ways a relationship could possibly end, I figured I had been pretty lucky. None of my boyfriends had ever hit me, treated me badly or cheated on me. It seemed like mostly the relationships just sort of fizzled out, and I suspected that had a lot to do with the fact that they weren't sexual relationships.

"My ex-girlfriend Dawn cheated on me," Eric confessed and that got my attention.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"She said she was okay with me wanting to wait with the sex stuff, but apparently that wasn't true. When I look back on it now, I don't even know what I saw in her to begin with. She was pretty, but she wasn't _that_ pretty," Eric sounded a little dazed and confused. "When I found out she was cheating on me I felt like a total idiot. I was so sure I was in love with her and she had me completely fooled into thinking she felt the same way. When I confronted her about the cheating she told me it was pretty much my own fault for not giving her what she needed."

Well that just pissed me off.

"That's such bullshit," I shook my head, angry for him for what had happened.

"I know," he lifted my hand and kissed the back of it. "When I think about it now I realize that she did me a big favor by cheating on me. It fucked me up at the time, but I know now it was for the best."

"I'm still sorry you had to go through that," I snuggled against him, hugging him tightly.

"It worked out," he said casually. "I mean I found you, so that right there makes it worthwhile."

I smiled against his chest, even though it made me sad to think about it. If I ever met the bitch that cheated on him, it would be hard not to kick her in the shin. I hated the idea of him kicking himself for someone else's stupidity. On the other hand, like Eric said, she may have done me a favor. Had she not cheated he might still be with her. That would be considerably worse.

I couldn't wrap my head around cheating and I told Eric as much. "I never understood it. I mean, if you're unhappy with the person you're with, why not just break up?"

"I don't know. I used to think maybe it was about wanting to have your cake and eat it too, but I don't know anymore," Eric started to twirl some of my hair around his fingers. "Have you ever… you never cheated on any of your boyfriends, did you?"

"No, definitely not," I promised him. "Did you cheat on any of your girlfriends?"

"Never," he said, even though I had assumed that was the case.

Eric was the loyal kind. I couldn't imagine him cheating on anyone, no matter how dire a situation was. It went unspoken, but I assumed that if either of us ever met someone else that caught our eye we would break up with each other before pursuing someone new. We sat on the couch quietly for a while before I got up and went to put some clothes on.

We made grilled cheese sandwiches and warmed up some soup for dinner and ate together down in the den while watching TV. We were only four days in, but living together was actually kind of nice. I hoped I still felt the same way by the time my parents got back from Louisiana. It was during a commercial that I remembered Eric's birthday was in just a few days.

"So, what do you want for your birthday?" I asked when we were done eating.

Eric smiled and said, "You. Naked. All day."

I rolled my eyes and said, "No, seriously."

"I _am_ serious. I can't think of anything better than watching you walk around the house naked all day," he beamed.

I shook my head in disbelief. "There has to be something else you want."

"Sex," he said with a shrug and I laughed. "I figured that was implied but since you asked…"

"You're crazy."

"Sookie, the average teenager loses their virginity at the age of seventeen. I'm going to be twenty. That's a lot of time to make up for," he pointed out.

I blushed a little and said, "You're sure that's what you really want?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely," he grinned.

Well alright then.

* * *

><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

If Sookie thought I was joking about wanting sex for my birthday, she was out of her mind. What guy wouldn't want that? I would gladly spend the entire day in bed with her. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day, as a matter of fact. Well, unless we were on a beach somewhere getting tan and the air smelled like coconuts, but that wasn't likely to happen.

I was suddenly very glad we had stocked up on condoms. We were going to need them, assuming I got what I asked for, and I was pretty sure I that I would. We went back to watching the movie after that but I could tell Sookie's mind was elsewhere. I figured she was planning, but I didn't bug her about it.

Instead I let my mind do a little wandering of its own. It was obvious from the word go that I was completely different from her ex-boyfriend Sam. He looked like any other small town, boy-next-door type. I wondered if he was one of those outdoorsy type guys that Sookie had been talking about earlier. You know, the kind that went hunting and fishing, and could probably be a crew member on the next big building job her father had planned. Sam didn't stick around long enough for me to ask, not that it mattered.

I decided the best thing about the trip so far wasn't even the sex, although I had definitely been enjoying that quite a bit, but learning new things about Sookie. Seeing her in what I guess could be called her 'natural habitat' helped me understand her better. She seemed more relaxed here, in spite of how much she was always telling me she loved living in Chicago. I suppose since this was her home for the majority of her life, it was to be expected that she would feel a certain level of comfort here that she wouldn't feel anywhere else.

We ended up falling asleep on the couch but when I woke up in the middle of the night I was alone. I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes, feeling a little disoriented for some reason. The lights were all out but I could see snow falling outside. It was amazing how much snow had been fallen since we had arrived a few days before. We were going to need to flow the paths the next day, which I was actually sort of looking forward to doing since I had never done it before.

The fun part was going to be riding the quads over to her brother's house to get his truck. I wouldn't have thought riding quads was as much fun as it was. The only downside was the cold, but I didn't really think about that too much as long as we were moving. It was sort of like riding a wave runner, and no one ever looked depressed while playing on one of those.

I got up off the couch and went to the patio doors to make sure they were locked. I tried to guestimate how much snow had fallen since it had started snowing. Based on the filling in of footprints, I was willing to bet it somewhere around another four inches, and it didn't look like the snow was going to stop anytime soon. What _did_ impress me was that the cover was back on the hot tub. Sookie must have done that all by herself, which was pretty awesome considering how heavy the top was.

Once I was sure the house was secure I walked through the kitchen and downstairs to her bedroom. Sookie was curled on her side, her blanket wrapped tightly around her. I went back to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth before climbing into bed with her. She snuggled a little closer to me, probably without even knowing she was doing it. Once our legs were tangled and my arm was draped over her, I kissed the top of her head and let myself drift off.

_The ocean roared before me. The sky was hazy the way it was on early summer mornings sometimes. There was a hint of a chill in the air coming off the water, but even as close as I was it didn't feel humid. Palm trees popped up sporadically up and down the beach. The sun was a big, yellow glowing ball of warmth overhead warming my back. _

_I stared at the water, unsure of what I was expecting to come out of it. But then there were hands on my shoulders, warm and familiar as they rubbed against my skin. The fingers were strong but dainty and I felt the graze of knees against my spine as my unseen visitor knelt down behind me. _

_Coffee and cinnamon filled the air._

_Sookie._

_My Sookie was behind me._

_Soft lips grazed my neck and I smiled. The little bit of loneliness I'd been feeling disappeared. I didn't need to search the water anymore. Kisses pressed themselves against my neck, moving from one side to the other until she reached my other ear._

"_I missed you, Eric," the voice wasn't Sookie's._

_I turned my head and it was Dawn kneeling behind me. "What did you do to Sookie?" I demanded._

"_Who?" she asked in that tone I knew well as her playing dumb._

"_Sookie. What. Did. You. Do. With. Her." I demanded, glaring fiercely at Dawn._

"_Nothing, I swear. This is _your_ dream, Eric. What did _you_ do with her?" Dawn stared past me and out to the water._

_I turned my head again and there was Sookie, bobbing and flailing it the distance, silently screaming for my help. I shoved away from Dawn and ran for the water's edge. The instant my toes touched the water, Sookie was pulled under._

"Sookie!" I shouted in my sleep and bolted upright in bed.

The bedroom was pitch dark and Sookie was out cold next to me. My shout didn't wake her up, leading me to wonder if I had really shouted like I thought. The sound had seemed real in my mind, but that didn't mean much of anything since I was coming out of a really fucked up dream. I shook my head and stretched out next to Sookie again.

She didn't even move, but that was probably for the best. I closed my eyes and tried to will my heartbeat back to its usual pace. I listened to the steady, slight whistling sound of Sookie breathing beside me. She shifted a little under the covers but made no other sounds or movements that would make me think she was awake.

After a good ten minutes of lying there without much change, I decided to get up and start breakfast. It would be nice to cook for her for a change. Besides, if I kept myself occupied with cooking then I wouldn't have to think about what caused that God awful dream in the first place. I kissed Sookie's forehead and slid out of bed. I made a quick pit stop in the bathroom and then headed upstairs to the kitchen.

I remembered Mom's French toast recipe and decided I would give it a shot. The worst thing that could happen was the smoke alarm would go off and wake Sookie up before I could turn it off. Since I wasn't terribly familiar with the layout of the kitchen it took me a while to gather up all the things I would need to make Sookie breakfast. I got the bacon started first and then went about slicing up the day old French bread we had left over from the spaghetti Sookie made on night two.

I cut little pockets into each slice and spooned some strawberry preserves into each pocket. When the bacon started to really sizzle I turned it over and whipped up the egg batter, and then heated the skillet for the French toast. Cooking was a crazy balancing act and required the ability to time things out pretty well. Sookie was much better at it than I was. As a result, the bacon was done long before the French toast. On top of that, the toast wasn't exactly evenly cooked. Some pieces of bread had soaked for longer than others, just like some sides of the toast were darker than others. I was constantly battling with the stove to get the temperature of the pan just right.

The important thing, I suppose, was that the French toast tasted good and none of the pieces were burnt beyond recognition. I managed to get the food onto plates and carried them downstairs to the bedroom where Sookie was still sleeping. I went back upstairs to get her a cup of coffee and attempted to doctor it accordingly. When I got back downstairs I moved the curtains out of the way only to realize the windows were blocked completely by snow. Instead I turned on the closet light since the overhead lighting would have been way too harsh for someone who just woke up.

"Sookie," I sat at the edge of the bed and kissed her neck.

"Mmm…" she moaned in her sleep but didn't open her eyes.

"Sookie wake up. I have a surprise for you," I kissed her jaw and felt her smile.

"But I'm sleeping," she said in a small, slightly raspy voice.

"That's why you need to wake up," I kissed her lips and she kissed back.

"Are you naked?" she whispered against my lips. It was a perfectly rational question but it made me laugh all the same.

"No, I have pants on. What does that have to do with anything?" I brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"Well because you being naked first thing when I wake up isn't a surprise anymore," she sassed me with a smug smile and her eyes closed.

"Oh you're a wiseguy, huh?" I tickled her stomach and her eyes popped open. "There's my girl."

Sookie squirmed a little but then sat up slowly. "Is that coffee?" she nodded toward the bedside table.

"Yes, love," I reached for it and handed the mug to her.

"Was that my surprise?" she asked and took a sip. "Mmm, this is perfect."

"Thank you," I kissed her forehead and then went for the plates sitting on the dresser behind me. "I made you breakfast," I said when I turned around with the plates in my hand.

"You made me breakfast?" she looked like she was going to cry.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would give it a shot. It tastes pretty good and your kitchen is still standing," I smirked and handed her a plate.

"You made French toast?" she smiled up at me.

"Stuffed French toast. Mom used to make it for us when we were kids," I sat on the edge of the bed again.

"This looks really good," Sookie set her mug aside and then attempted to cut into her toast.

I waited for her to try a bite and she looked surprised and impressed. I grinned at her as she chewed. "Good?" I couldn't resist asking.

Sookie swallowed and nodded emphatically. "This is delicious. You'll have to teach me how to make it sometime."

"Deal," I took the bite off her fork that she offered me.

"So why couldn't you sleep?" Sookie asked while cutting off another bite for herself.

I shifted on the bed so I was sitting beside her with my back to the headboard. "I had a bad dream," I said as casually as I could.

"You did? I thought I heard you calling out to me, but then I figured I was just dreaming," Sookie confessed and took a drink of her coffee. "What did you dream about?"

"I was on a beach somewhere. You were drowning and I couldn't save you," I told her. I left out the part about Dawn because… hell, I don't know why I left that part out.

"Awww, I'm sorry I didn't wake up. I really did think I was dreaming," Sookie leaned over and kissed my jaw.

"Don't worry about it," I gave her a soft smile.

She looked at me like she knew something wasn't quite right, but she didn't ask me a bunch of questions either. Truthfully, I knew I didn't tell her about Dawn being in my dream because I didn't want her thinking I still had feelings for Dawn. More than two years had passed since all of that happened. I was over it. Well, at least I thought I was.

What really bothered me wasn't so much that Dawn was in my dream. That could just be a freak occurrence. What bothered me more was the idea of Sookie slipping away from me. Watching her drown and not being able to do anything about it made me feel awful, and I had no idea where a dream like that had come from. I felt guilty for reasons I didn't understand. I didn't realize how quiet I had been until Sookie waved a hand in front of my face to get my attention.

"You okay in there?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, sorry," I shook myself out of my funk.

"You sure? You don't look so good," Sookie's brows knit together. "That dream must have really fucked you up."

"Yeah, I guess it did," I set my fork down. I wasn't hungry anymore.

I needed to snap out of it and fast.

* * *

><p><strong>Could the honeymoon be over for them already? Ugh, Eric and all of this introverted mindfucks he goes through. Poor guy. I can't remember if I mentioned it in my last update but I put Sookie's soup recipe up on my tumblr so if you're interested feel free to go on over and take a look makesmyheadspinfanfic(dot)tumblr(dot)com. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	37. Just to Be Your Man

**Sorry for the delay in posting here. It's been a busy week for me, and I got sucked into the Game of Thrones marathon that was on yesterday. Just what I needed, another life ruiner *le sigh* Enjoy the chapter since it's got plenty of citrus in it.**

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><p><span>Chapter 37: Just to be Your Man<span>

**EPOV**

Vodka was a dangerous mistress. One minute Sookie and I were sitting in the living room playing chess and the next it turned into strip chess. I don't remember whose idea it was, but pieces of clothing started coming off one move at a time. I didn't realize until then just how good of a chess player she was, but I figured it out when I ended up naked first.

She was good. Very good.

"Well well, it looks like we have a winner," she smirked coyly at me and took another drink from her glass.

"This proves nothing. Maybe I was letting you win," I said but she just pfffft'd at me.

"You wish, buster," Sookie lay back on the floor, staring up at me as I contemplated my next move. Since neither of us had much in the way of a tolerance for alcohol, it didn't take much to get us drunk.

"So how long do I have to stay naked?" I smirked back at her.

"The rest of the night seems appropriate," she grinned and then got up off the floor to turn on the radio.

I wasn't the least bit surprised to hear country music playing and as much as Sookie tried to hide it from me, I knew she indulged in it more often than she was willing to admit. I'd scrolled through her iPod and while I didn't see Taylor Swift anywhere (that might have been grounds for breaking up), I did see Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Chris Young and a few others. The current song was a little faster paced, but changed a few seconds after she turned toward me.

"Dance with me," she held her hand out to me.

"You want to slow dance?" I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me.

"Would it help if I got naked too?" she lifted her eyes slowly to mine and I wanted to just tackle her right there on the living room floor.

"I wouldn't object," I said as we began to move.

"Mmm… show me what'cha got, and I'll consider it," she rubbed up against me and brushed a kiss against my chest.

She wasn't really wearing much more in the way of clothing than I was, but she wasn't naked. I wanted her naked. If that meant dancing, I would be more than willing to do it. Besides, it was a slow dance. How hard could that be?

Hard turned out to be the operative word. I didn't know the song that was playing on the radio but the words coupled with Sookie warm, curvy body pressed against mine put all sorts of ideas in my head.

_Every inch of you against my skin. I wanna be stronger than we've ever been. So come a little closer baby. I feel like strippin' it down._

Swear to God, whoever this dude was, he was reading my mind. Stripping her down, laying her down, being pressed against her skin… it all sounded perfect. Just as I was about to make a move on her, the music changed and she pushed me back onto the couch. The immediate, slow and steady sway of her hips kept me staring at her rather slack-jawed. She turned slowly, her hands running up and down her sides until she had one in her hair with her head thrown back and the other on her hip as she continued to undulate in front of me. Goddamn.

She turned around and gave me a fantastic view of the arch of her back and then all of a sudden she dropped down just so she could stand up slowly. She was killing me one move at a time. I watched her hands move up her body and into her hair, pulling it up so it created a sexy blonde curtain. She looked over her shoulder and winked at me with a devious little smile turning the corner of her mouth up.

Sookie let go of her hair and continued to move her hips in an almost figure eight sort of motion that probably would have felt in-fucking-credible if she had been sitting on my lap. As if she was reading my mind, she backed up a little bit and lowered herself down, bracing herself on my knees. I learned then that there was a fine line between fucking amazing and fucking torture.

She leaned back and rubbed her ass against my cock, which was already bordering on painfully hard, and tilted her face up to kiss the underside of my chin. My hands refused to stay still and moved up her stomach to her breasts. She moaned quietly, bit her lip and then pulled away so she could stand up and turn around to face me. Her arms went around to her back. I saw the slight bounce of her breasts when she released the hooks on her bra and I'm pretty sure my eyes glazed over.

Slowly she peeled the lace away from her body and dropped it on the floor. My hands shot out, wanting to cover what was just bared, but she beat me to it. So not fair, and yet, seriously sexy at the same time. There was a battle going on inside me. In one respect I wanted to just pounce on her, and in the other I wanted to let her finish doing her thing because it sure as hell was fun to watch.

Sookie resumed her little dance, thrusting her hips and staring me in the eyes while she played with her nipples. The way her head rolled and she would bite her lip sometimes was driving me crazy. She moved between my legs again with her back to me and bent forward while she started to slide her boy shorts down over her hips. She had just gotten them over her ass when she stood up and turned around to face me again.

A coy smile peeked out from behind her hair, which was no sufficiently mussed up from being tossed one way or the other. My eyes found hers, and it was out of my peripheral vision that I saw her panties get lower and lower on her legs. She stood up suddenly and must have lost her balance because she fell flat on her ass when she tried to kick her panties off. I was off the couch immediately to make sure she was okay, but Sookie was just laughing hysterically and rubbing her butt.

"Are you okay?" I knelt beside her.

"God gave me padding for a reason, baby," she turned on her side and guided my hand to the sore spot. "But if you want to kiss it better…"

I didn't even think twice before diving down to do it.

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><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

Eric didn't stop at just kissing the sore spot on my butt. What started out as fun sexy turned into serious sexy real fast. He moved all up my back until he got to my neck and was straddled over me. He was as hard as I was wet and I wanted him right then, right there, condom or not. I didn't care. His hands were all over me and when his fingers slid inside me I thought I was going to explode right then and there.

"You're so wet, Sookie," he practically purred in my ear.

"I want you so bad," I murmured back and turned my face to kiss him on the mouth.

He gave me what I wanted and slowly pumped his fingers in and out of me until I was begging for more. "No condom," he muttered when he turned me over.

"I don't care," I pulled him down on top of me.

Eric looked nervous for just a second before getting his head back in the game and realizing he would be an idiot to turn me down because we didn't have a condom. It wasn't as if we would be without protection. I figured after this experience there was the distinct possibility that we might never use condoms again but I wouldn't know for sure until after we did it.

One of my legs curled around his waist and pulled him closer. My eyes were locked on his as he lined himself up with my entrance and started to push into me. I know my eyes got a little wider at the feeling of skin on skin, and it was adorable/sexy the way he bit his bottom lip in concentration.

"Fuck this feels good," Eric said as he slid deeper inside me.

I just nodded since I didn't really have any words to add. What he said pretty much summed it up for me. He was thrusting into me slowly at first, and the way he was looking at me was different from the way he had in the past. I chocked it up to the condomless sex being an entirely new experience for both of us. But then something came over him and he started pounding into me fast and hard in a way that he hadn't in the past, and holy hell did it feel amazing.

"Oh my God!" I cried out, scratching at his back. "Oh God, don't stop! Don't fucking stop!"

He kissed me hard and then rolled us over. I scrambled to get up on my knees to try and keep the pace. Of course that was when I started to lose coordination and control of my muscles. Whether it was the intensity of what was happening or the booze in my system, I don't know. It was probably a combination of the two, which would explain why I started giggling when I saw the look on Eric's face. It was sort of animalistic, but then he kind of looked the same way he did the first time I blew him.

"Why are you laughing?" his words were staggered with the thrust of his hips.

"Your face," I couldn't help pointing, even as I was grinding against him. "Oh God, don't stop. Fuck me harder."

Yeah, I was full on laughing at that point and Eric joined in. I didn't even know what was funny after that, we just couldn't seem to stop laughing. We rolled around on the floor, giggling and playing with different positions until I somehow ended up on my back with my hands pinned over my head. The giggling had stopped and the intensity of Eric's eyes was almost frightening. He was all business just then.

"Do you have any idea…" he stilled suddenly, buried deep inside me and my smile faded. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

My heart leapt up into my throat and my eyes filled with tears. I shook my head slowly and his lips crashed down on mine. His hips started to move again and he let go of my hands only so that they could come down and rest on either side of my head. His fingers laced with mine and my hips started to rise to meet his. The pressure inside me was building with every brush of his tongue against mine.

The kiss only broke when we needed to breathe. Eric's mouth moved to my ear and he whispered, "You're the best thing about me, Sookie."

He spoke just as my orgasm took over, and it all overwhelmed me. Tears leaked from my eyes and he was still thrusting into me in a slow, deep rhythm with his palms pressed against mine. He nibbled on my ear, kissed my neck and whispered things I couldn't hear. Eric collapsed on top of me when he came, my name falling from his lips and landing on my throat in a rush of warm breath. I felt him release inside me and it was strange to be able to feel it like I did.

I whimpered and let go of his hands to hug him to me instead. We lay there for a while just trying to catch our breath. Lonestar was playing on the radio. I hadn't heard the song in a long time but it almost felt like someone out there knew it was the perfect time for the song to play. Eric lifted his head, smiled down at me and brushed little kisses all over my face.

_Oh it feels like the first time, every time. I want to spend the whole night in your eyes…_

Yep, I now knew how that felt. I wanted it with him. It wasn't until that moment that I understood that it was possible to love someone so much that it actually hurt to feel it. I couldn't imagine ever loving anyone more than I did him, and when his lips reached mine I kissed him so he would know it.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

We got ourselves cleaned up just in time for midnight. Eric had his boxers on and I was wearing his t-shirt when the New Year began. When he kissed me it felt like we were making a promise to one another, although I don't know what that promise was. What I do know is that we foolishly decided we needed more vodka, and in no time we were beyond buzzed and straight up wasted.

"Sookie, look!" Eric had my bra on his head. I don't know why.

I burst out laughing and pulled it off of him. "What are you doing?"

"It could be a hat! Your boobs are huge," he said admiringly.

"Thanks, baby," I giggled and fell back on the couch. "So is your cock."

He pulled his shorts open, looked down and said, "Yeah, I guess it is."

We were idiots.

We tried playing chess again but that just wasn't working. We couldn't remember the rules and every time Eric got one of his pieces to my side of the board he yelled, "King me, woman!"

See? Idiots.

We left the music on and at some point I decided to challenge Eric to a dance off, only we were way too uncoordinated for that. Eric decided the challenge should be to see who could do 'the Robot' better, but trying to do that to country music wasn't working very well. Around two in the morning we got hungry and went to the kitchen. We knelt in front of the fridge, grabbing for anything we could. Mostly we were eating fruit since I'd picked up a bunch of berries the day before at the market.

Eric located a can of whipped cream in the door of the fridge that was leftover from dessert on Christmas Eve. "Take off your shirt," he said while popping the cap off the can.

"Why?" I asked while rooting through the pint of raspberries looking for the one I wanted.

"Because I have an idea," he took the berries from me.

"Eric!" I tried to reach for it but it was too far behind him.

"Just take off your shirt," he insisted and shook the whipped cream can.

I huffed and pulled the shirt off. "There. Happy now?" I glared at him.

He grinned, aimed the can at my nipple and then began to spray the cold cream on my chest. Oh. His eyes were set on mine and he set the can aside while his head dipped down. His tongue appeared and licked the cream off my chest. I giggled a little and threw my head back to really laugh (which meant I smacked my head on the door of the fridge) when he sucked my nipple into his mouth.

"Do the other one!" I encouraged him.

When he released the left one, the cold air from the fridge hit it and my lady parts took notice. Eric grabbed a strawberry, held it up for me to bite—which I did- and then he used the juicy part of it to rub around my other nipple. I giggled some more when he growled, admiring his handiwork, and then dove down to lick away the juice.

When all was said and done we had not only exhausted the supply of whipped cream, but the chocolate sauce had also taken a hit. We were sticky and all kinds of messed up by the time we headed downstairs. I wanted to just fall into bed but Eric pulled me into the shower instead. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep while we were in the shower since I don't remember drying off or getting into bed, and yet that was where I woke up in the morning.

My head was throbbing and it was pitch black in my bedroom. I had absolutely no desire to get up and go get water or go pee, even though I desperately needed to do both of those things. I groaned and burrowed into Eric's side. He didn't move at all. He was so warm and snoring sporadically in that cute he way he did sometimes.

Somehow I managed to convince my body to go back to sleep, so after throwing my arm over Eric's stomach, that's exactly what I did.

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><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

Everything hurt. Even my eyelashes. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, I felt like hell. I lost track of how much we'd had to drink the night before, but I knew it was a lot. The night was coming to me in little bursts. I remembered naked chess, lap dances, using Sookie as a human plate, slip and sliding in the shower and the sex.

Oh the sex. Sex without a condom. Best sex ever. She had cried though. Did I hurt her? Was I too rough? We had been playing around, I remembered that, but had I gone too far? Fuck. My head was pounding. I had to pee.

I slipped out from under Sookie and slowly sat up on the edge of the bed. I felt a little dizzy and nauseous. Water and aspirin—those were my goals. The bathroom felt like it was a mile away despite the fact that it was right next door. I dragged my ass out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. Thankfully it was cloudy outside, probably snowing, and I wasn't blinded by the light. Damn tile floor was a nasty shock to my system and I would have shouted if I wouldn't have been afraid of the sound.

I peed quickly, washed my hands and brushed my teeth. It felt like a dead cat had slept in my mouth. A quick check of the medicine cabinet garnered me the much needed aspirin, and I palmed a couple of them before heading upstairs for a glass. The radio was still on in the living room. I took the aspirin and then went to the living room to turn the music off. Country music was the last thing I wanted to hear just then.

The living room was slightly trashed. Chess pieces were strewn all over the floor, along with our clothes and a few empty cups. I swear I could smell the vodka in the air and it made my stomach turn. Those cups were going to stay right where they were for the time being, as was the rest of the mess. For the moment, all I wanted was to get a couple of bottles of water from the fridge and go back to bed.

Hangovers fucking sucked.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

It was early afternoon before Sookie and I finally got out of bed, but it was only so we could stagger across the house and collapse on the couch together in the den. We channel surfed and nursed our hangovers with water and pizza that we had delivered shortly after finding the strength to get out of bed. Of course that meant a small argument over who was going to answer the door since neither of us wanted to move.

"Please? I'll blow you later," she promised, her eyelashes batting away at me.

"Seriously?" I couldn't believe she was attempting to bribe me.

"I don't want to get up," she moaned.

"You're going to trade a blow job for pizza?" I just wanted to make sure I had that right, and she nodded. "Deal."

I wasn't going to pass that up.

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><p><strong>Yeah, so Eric gets pizza AND a beej. What guy is going to turn that down? In fact, I'm sure they would love for chicks to believe that is the only hangover cure that works. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	38. So Happy Together

**Sorry I've been such a slacker on posting this. I've had the chapter, I just keep forgetting to post it with all the other stuff that I've been posting lately. Ugh. I'll try to be better about it. Oh, and not a single bit of this chapter is safe for work, so read on at your own risk.  
><strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 38: So Happy Together<span>

**EPOV**

Twenty-four hours of naked Sookie started promptly at midnight on my birthday. We were sitting in the den with a fire going and a _Twilight Zone_ marathon on TV when she suddenly stood up and took off all her clothes. I sat there slightly slack jawed and waited to see what she would do next, but Sookie just sat down again like she hadn't randomly gotten naked.

I'm not complaining, mind you, just wondering what possessed her to do it. I looked over at her, watching her. When she didn't say or do anything, I pinched myself, thinking I had probably fallen asleep. But then I grumbled an ouch like a big baby and Sookie turned her head toward me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're naked," I said and her eyebrows shot up. "No, I mean... why are you naked?"

"You said that was what you wanted for your birthday, right?"

"Well yeah, but..."

"So I'm naked," she shrugged.

Oh. Okay then.

"Oh, and you get pretty much anything you want today," she kept her eyes on the TV screen.

"What do you mean by anything?" I asked curiously, my mind already racing with possibilities. "You mean if I said I wanted you to stay in bed all day and let me go down on you anytime I wanted..."

"You could have it."

"How about if I said I wanted to fuck you on the kitchen table?"

"Okay."

"So I can bend you over right now and have my way with you?" I asked.

"Yep," she smiled over at me.

"Wow." I had an instant hard-on.

"Just remember if you're too rough I'll be out of commission for a few days," she reminded me.

I had no intention of sidelining her, although there was something I wanted to try just out of curiosity. I leaned over and kissed her neck and let my hand part her thighs. She gasped as my hand moved toward her center.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a breathy, uncertain voice.

"Experimenting," I replied and parted her folds with my fingers.

She squirmed a little and turned her face to mine. I claimed her lips quickly, and then lifted my hand to her mouth. Her tongue darted out and she licked my fingers before sucking them into her mouth. When they were wet, I pulled them away and put them back between her warm thighs. Her legs spread a little wider and she slouched a bit.

My fingers slid inside her and she moved. I resumed kissing her neck and started to pump my fingers faster. Sookie moaned and started to play with her breasts. I growled at the sight and would have nudged her hands out of the way if it wasn't so damn sexy to watch. I pulled my fingers out of her and trailed them up to her clit.

"Eric," she moaned while tugging on her perfect, pink nipples.

I loved that sound.

I watched my fingers slid in and out of her. She was so fucking tight, and while I definitely planned on burying my cock in her before we passed out, it wasn't the time yet. Her hips started to thrust against my hand, and my palm ground against her clit.

"That's it, Sookie, fuck yourself on my fingers," I said in her ear and her eyes squeezed closed.

I felt the familiar fluttering of her pussy around my fingers, and the raggedness of her breath as she got closer and closer to coming. Her hand flew out and grabbed onto my t-shirt. This probably wasn't what she envisioned happening when she said I could have anything I wanted, but she wasn't complaining either.

My fingers curled and I stroked against her sweet spot. She called out my name and I watched as her juices poured out with her orgasm. Watching her get off almost had me coming as well. She was still shivering and shaking from her orgasm when I pulled my fingers out of her. Usually I would suck her juices from my fingers, but instead I trailed them down to her other entrance.

Sookie's eyes opened wide and she stared at me. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Experimenting," I repeated. "If you don't want me to, just say so."

She thought about it for a minute before saying, "Just go slow."

I leaned over and kissed her. I plunged my fingers back into her pussy to get them wetter and she moaned into my mouth. I was still kissing her when I moved my fingers back to her tight, perfect ass, and pushed one of my fingers against her entrance. She moaned again and I slowly breached her opening. Sookie squirmed a little and I pulled back.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked her.

"No," she gasped.

I pushed my finger a little deeper and then pulled out a little. I worked my finger in and out slowly, watching her face to make sure she was still on board with what I was doing. When I was sure she was into it, I shifted to the floor and knelt between her legs. I dipped down and used my tongue on her clit.

"Oh God!" she cried, her hand threading in my hair.

"Like that?" I smiled and she nodded. I pushed a finger from my other hand into her pussy and her hips lifted off the couch.

"Fuck, Eric," she panted.

My lips fastened around her clit while I fucked her with my fingers. She started to writhe and moan as I worked her. Watching her come undone like she was was absolutely amazing. She screamed when she came, and by the way she was shaking, I was sure she'd just had the mother of all orgasms. I was sufficiently proud of myself for it.

And before she was even finished coming, I had my pants down and thrust my cock inside her. She cried out again and her eyes rolled back into her head. I watched the bounce of her breasts as I thrust into her. God, she was fucking sexy.

"Ohmygod, Eric!" she cried.

"You're so fucking wet for me, Sookie. Your pussy feels so good," I groaned and pounded into her a little harder.

"Oh God!" she cried again.

I watched my cock pump in and out of her and I knew I wasn't going to last too long. She cried out over and over and when I knew I was about to lose it, I pulled out of her and finished on her stomach. I rubbed the head of my cock against her clit and she shivered. I pushed into her again and thrust a few more times until I started going soft.

When I pulled out again, I sat back on my feet and just stared at her. For a minute I worried I'd fucked her unconscious, but then Sookie opened her beautiful blue eyes and said, "Happy birthday, Eric."

I laughed in that weird, disbelieving, out of breath kind of way. Sookie was all blissed out on the couch in front of me and all I could do was dive forward to kiss her lips softly. There were no words for what I was feeling at that moment. To say it was already my best birthday ever would be an understatement, and it was only going to get better.

Later that morning I woke up to the feeling of something warm and wet on my cock. My eyes fluttered open and I barely registered the sound of humming. The sensation of it, however, was much more prevalent and my newly opened eyes rolled back into my head. I'd heard of hummers before, but goddamn. Now every time I heard the tune of "happy birthday" I was going to pop a boner hard enough to poke through steel.

"Oh fuck… Sookie," I groaned, but could only grab the sheets.

Her cheeks hollowed and she sucked harder, doing everything she could to earn my release. She didn't have to wait long. A gentle squeeze of my balls sent me into outer space, and I shot my seed down her throat. Sookie released my cock with a pop of her lips and then crawled up my body.

"Are you…" I gasped and reached up to touch her face, "are you trying to kill me?"

"Baby if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't send you out on a note like that," she grazed her breasts against my chest and I growled at her.

"You realize I can't fuck you right now," I grabbed her hips.

"That's okay. Today is about you, not me," she dipped down and ghosted her lips over mine. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"You. On your back. Legs open," I grinned at her.

"Seriously," she tilted her head. "I'm hungry."

"Surprise me," I kneaded her hips.

"When we were kids we always got chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast," Sookie informed me and kissed her way down my neck.

"That sounds good, but if you keep it up with the kissing, you're never getting out of this bed," I warned her.

"Nonsense. We both need our strength. Unless you plan on us fucking to death," she said.

"Are you kidding? I think I'm a blowjob away from proposing to you," I snickered and Sookie rolled her eyes.

"Oh that'd be a lovely story to tell our grandkids someday," Sookie climbed off of me and didn't bother putting any clothes on as she walked out of the room. Damn, that ass was just begging to be… "See kids, Grandpa asked me to marry him because I could make him come so hard with just my mouth that he saw stars…" she trailed off with a giggle.

I jumped out of bed and followed her upstairs. "Maybe we shouldn't put it quite like that," I caught her around her waist and rubbed against her.

"Stop it," she slapped at my hands.

"You said I could have you whenever I wanted," I tugged on her ear with my teeth.

"Food, Eric," she chastised. "Don't make me get the wooden spoon."

"Wooden spoon, huh?" I playfully slapped her ass and she yelped.

"Eric!"

"Couldn't resist, but if it makes you feel better," I dropped to my knees and kissed the pink spot on her lower cheek.

"Thank you, baby, now get up off your knees so I can start breakfast," she pleaded with me.

"Yes, ma'am," I got up and actually went downstairs to put on a pair of shorts. I grabbed my t-shirt from the night before and brought that upstairs for her. "Here," I handed over to her.

"What's this for?" she arched an eyebrow.

"For you, so you don't burn anything, or get spattered with something by accident," I smiled at her.

"I love you. A lot," Sookie put her arms up over her head and I prepped the t-shirt to go on her, but I backed her up against the fridge and kissed each of her breasts several times before I covered them. "You're evil," she mumbled under her breath when I let her go.

"But you still love me," I kissed the top of her head. "Now show me what to do to help."

"Eric, this is your birthday breakfast. Your job is just to plot how you're going to attack me when we're done eating," she lectured as she pulled skillet from a lower cabinet.

She wasn't wearing panties, obviously, and it was equally obvious that blowing me had turned her on. The temptation to drop my shorts and fuck her right there was incredibly strong, but I didn't want her to get pissy with me. She had come up with one hell of a gift, and I would be a fool to blow it. I pushed myself up onto the counter on the other side of the room, careful not to whack my head or shoulders on the cabinets.

It went without saying that her gift to me put her into coolest girlfriend ever territory. I started thinking seriously, at least for a few seconds, about the idea of marrying her. I could see myself with her in twenty years. She'd have her bake shop, and I imagined she would always smell like cake, or vanilla extract. I'd go to grad school at Berkeley and maybe teach college courses on literature. Maybe I'd go into publishing. I could see us with a couple of kids. I could see my life with her, and I liked what I saw.

It also scared me a little. I wasn't afraid of commitment, but it seemed a little too easy that we had met so soon in life. But then again, it wasn't like Sookie was my first girlfriend, and I knew she had a couple of ex-boyfriends in her past. She could just very well be the only girl I ever had sex with. Would that be so bad?

Stan had told me I would get bored, eventually, and want to move on. Stan, of course, was an idiot when it came to relationships, which was why he was usually single. While I watched Sookie move around the kitchen, putting together breakfast for me, I realized I could probably never get bored with her. Boredom was part of what led guys to cheat, right? Well how many guys had girlfriends willing to do what Sookie was for me?

She didn't make a bunch of ridiculous demands on my time, although that was partially because she was wherever I wanted to be anyway. She gave me space when I needed it. We made each other laugh, we liked a lot of the same things, and yet we managed to open each other's eyes to new things, too. Simply put, I was crazy about her and if I was completely honest, I didn't _want_ to picture life with anyone else.

So where did that leave us?

**SPOV**

The look on Eric's face when I turned around with a platter full of pancakes was one I couldn't quite place. He'd been doing some pretty serious thinking, that much was obvious. I cleared my throat to get his attention and he seemed to snap out of the trance he was in. He slid down off the counter and took the platter from me before kissing my forehead. Wordlessly, he walked over to the table while I got plates and silverware.

"Is something wrong?" I asked as I set the table.

"No, I'm fine," he smiled at me, but I knew there was something going on in his head.

"Do you want milk?"

"Yes, please," he pulled out his chair and sat down.

I grabbed the gallon of milk from the fridge and two glasses, and brought them over to the table. I sat down next to him and poured us each a glass of milk. Eric speared a couple of pancakes and put them on his place. I did the same, and for a little while we just ate in silence. Then, all of a sudden, Eric put down his fork and looked over at me.

"I want you around. You asked if something is wrong, and the answer is no. Everything with you is perfect, and as much as I love it, it's also a little scary. All couples fight, and we really don't, so I'm a little paranoid that when it happens it's going to be really bad. I don't want to lose you, Sookie. I can see my future and you're in it. So that's what I'm thinking about right now, all the ways I can make you happy," he told me and my eyes started to water. "Shit, don't cry. Please, don't cry."

I tried to blink my tears back because what he just said was one of the sweetest things I'd ever heard, but a couple of tears escaped anyway. I reached over and pulled Eric's face to mine, and I kissed him. I couldn't even form words to tell him how I felt right then, but the fact that he kissed me back the way he did told me he understood. He had mentioned something about me tying him up and having my way with him, and I hadn't been sure I could do it. I didn't think I had it in me. At that moment, however, I knew that there wasn't any pressure on me to be perfect. All I had to do was just be myself, whoever that was, and Eric would have my back.

As soon as we were done eating, I pulled his t-shirt off and tossed it downstairs. I cleaned up the kitchen with Eric's help, even though I told him he didn't have to. Something had changed between us with his confession. There was an unspoken feeling of certainty between us from that point on. With just a few words from him, it was like everything in my future slid into focus, and when I thought about someday being his wife, it made me feel giddy inside.

The rest of my life with Eric sounded like a nice place to start.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

I looked down at my bed and smiled at my handiwork. Eric had been more than willing to let me tie him up, as was evident by the erection he was sporting, and I hadn't even touched him yet. He knew I was going to, however, and I suppose that was a big part of the thrill. I lightly ran my finger over the soul of his foot, and he jerked a little, a smile cracking his face.

The blindfold over his eyes prevented him from knowing where or when I might strike, but that was his idea. I moved around the bed, keeping silent while I plotted my next action. I dragged a finger along the underside of his arm, and watched the goose bumps form on his skin. He grunted, while I stayed silent. I traced the outline of his lips with my finger, and his tongue darted out to taste it. He tried to suck my finger, but I pulled it away.

"Sookie," he growled, but I ignored it, and instead bent down to kiss a line down his ribs, scraping my teeth against them every now and then.

The bed jerked when he pulled at his restraints, and I smiled against his skin. "That won't work, sweetheart," I bit his nipple then and he hissed.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it again. He had asked for this. When I told him what I wanted to do, his eyes had started to practically glow with excitement. This was what he wanted, and I had to admit, the power I felt was addictive.

"You're mine now, lover," I whispered in his ear and he shuddered.

After a little more teasing that caused Eric some seriously heavy breathing, I climbed onto the bed and straddled one of his legs. I rubbed against it to let him feel how I excited I was by what I was doing, and he groaned. "You like this, don't you, Sookie?" his voice was husky.

"Mmm," I moaned and leaned down so he could feel my breath on his erection. His body went a little stiff and I smiled. "Should I fuck you with my mouth?" I suggested and licked the tip of his cock.

"Sookie," he gritted.

"Or maybe," I shifted a little and moved further up his body and gently opened his mouth. I placed my breast in front of it and said, "Or maybe I'll let you play with my nipple."

His mouth closed around it instantly, his tongue flicking over it quickly before I pulled it away. "Untie me," he insisted.

"Nuh uh," I whispered in his ear. "I'm not done yet."

I reached down his body and trailed my fingers up and down his stomach. His hips lifted off the bed, hoping maybe to get my hand around his cock, but that wasn't going to happen just yet. The whole point of this was to tease, to build anticipation, and I hadn't been at it for very long. I didn't know what I was doing, but I let instinct be my guide. My fingers dipped between my legs and even I was impressed with how wet all of this was making me.

I moistened my fingers and asked, "Do you want to taste me, Eric?"

"Yes," came the grunt of a reply.

I moved my wet fingers to his mouth and let him suck them clean, which he did with another groan. His mouth followed when I took my fingers away.

"Dammit, Sookie," he growled and pulled at his restraints again.

I chuckled quietly and asked, "Should I remove your blindfold, baby?"

"Yes," he said with a clenched jaw.

I carefully untied it so I didn't accidentally rip any of his hair out, and the look in his eyes when I pulled the silky material away was unmistakable. Whenever I let him out of the restraints (which were just silk scarves I'd found in the basement), he was going to attack and it would be a miracle if I could walk when he was through. I was looking forward to it. I kissed him softly, teasingly, and then pulled back before Eric could get too into it.

My lips trailed down his neck, nipping and tasting his skin. I reached back and wrapped my hand around his cock and his hips thrust upward. I smiled against his skin and slowly started to stroke him, using that little bit of moisture at his tip for lubricant. His hips continued to thrust up, but I didn't go any faster.

"Fuck, Sookie," he whimpered, and that made that devious little voice in my head purr with delight.

He didn't need to tell me what was going to happen whenever I finally untied him. The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. There was something feral and primal there, almost like a hunter who had been stalking his prey for far too long; only to be eluded every time a clear shot came into view. Only Eric kept me in his sights, and I knew as soon as I let his hands loose, he was going to reclaim control.

I couldn't wait.

**EPOV**

She was trying to kill me. In spite of all her sweet words and angelic smiles, the little minx was trying to kill me. That was the only explanation for what I was experiencing. When she had first told me twenty-four hours of her naked, I had assumed it would be pure heaven. What newly minted twenty-year-old doesn't want his hot as fuck girlfriend prancing around naked in front of him all day long, willing to do whatever he wants her to do?

I would be lying if I said I hadn't taken advantage of it a little bit, but I had made sure Sookie got as good as she gave, and she was quickly becoming a fucking master—literally.

Truthfully, I didn't have anyone to blame for my current predicament but myself, seeing as how it had been my idea for her to tie me up in the first place. At the time that I mentioned it, it sounded fucking awesome. I hadn't really given much thought to how quickly I would get so hard it fucking hurt, or how Sookie just staring at me while she jerked me off would be enough to have me pulling a Mount Vesuvius on my own stomach. Although watching her clean it up with her tongue had been a serious turn-on.

She teased me within an inch of my life, letting me taste her briefly, or allowing me to get my lips around her nipple just long enough to start to enjoy it before she pulled away. By the time she finally had mercy on me and untied me, I was so worked up I was sure I was going to fuck her right through the mattress. It was to her benefit that I had amassed much in the way of hang time, or she would probably be on the uncomfortable side for the next couple of days.

As it was, the second my hands were free I had her on her back with her hands pinned over her head. I kissed her with bruising strength and entered her hard. She cried out, but the sound was swallowed by the deep kiss she was on the receiving end of. That inability to decide whether that had been the best experience of my life or the worst… I just needed to be inside her. That would make it all better.

Her hips rose to meet mine, her moans echoing off the walls with every thrust of my hips. I nibbled her lips, neck, breasts… anywhere I could get my teeth was up for little bites, and the kind of sucking that would leave little marks. She was mine, and I needed to see evidence of that long after the orgasms faded. I don't know what came over me.

"Ah! Eric!" she cried, and I slowed for a moment.

"Did I hurt you?" I panted. I didn't want her to be in pain.

"No," she shook her head. "Keep going. I'm so close."

That made two of us. I actually finished first but she was right behind me, milking whatever might have been left from me. I dropped on top of her and let go of her hands. She quickly wrapped her arms around me and pressed kisses to the side of my face.

"I really fucking love you," she panted, running her fingers through my hair.

We were a sweaty heap and all I could say was, "Me too, lover, me too."

* * *

><p><strong>*points to the right* Fresh panties are over there. Thank Scribeninja for this chapter because tying Eric up is one of her kinks bwahaha. Man, she's gonna be pissed at me for using the word kink. Oh well. Thanks for reading!<strong>


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